For Him
by Silken Ink
Summary: Learn archery, become a priestess, learn patience in the face of unrequited love, fight a crazy zombie ex-girlfriend, get beaten up by flying monkeys, turn into a demon …. there was nothing Kagome wouldn't do …. for him. This is a re-imagining and rearranging of the original plot line, with more romance and a few new elements thrown in for funzies.
1. Chapter 1

"Goddam it!" A certain white haired dog demon snarled as he dragged himself up from the ground once more. He had so many fucking cuts he had lost track somewhere along the line. This wind bitch was tearing him up.

It was that reincarnation of Naraku, the Wind Witch, whatever her name was. He had forgotten it. And he didn't need to know her name to kill her, so he didn't bother trying to remember it.

"Hey you! You say you like wind right? Well how about I punch your gut full of air? I'll be nice enough to rip your head off so you can see it too!" Inuyasha yelled, his threats typical in their level of confidence and utter lack of sensibility.

Somewhere off to the side he heard Sango groan and Miroku sigh as the monk wondered out loud, "How can he say that when _she's_ the one mopping the floor with _him_?"

"I heard that…." Inuyasha snarled, sending a dirty look towards the dark haired man hovering protectively near Kagome.

The monk just winced and rubbed the back of his head with an apologetic grin.

Sometimes Miroku irritated Inuyasha to the point of wanting to give him a good beating, but at the moment he was just a little bit too busy to do that. He had to stay focused on his opponent in front of him. Normally he was relatively easily distracted, even during a battle, but right now he was feeling too threatened to really be able to allow himself that luxury – and for him, that was saying a lot.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

Kagome just gripped her bow and kept the arrow notched and the string taut, waiting for an opening through which she could hit the woman and end this. Her hand shook ever so slightly as her fingers gripped the string tight, the thin band cutting into her skin from the constant tension. It was all she could do to ignore the painful worry gnawing at her stomach, making her ever so slightly nauseous. She couldn't entirely keep herself from glancing away from the enemy and towards Inuyasha on occasion, her eyes darting across his form and counting the number of red wounds on his body, panicking more and more each time, because at every quick glance there was a new one. This woman was thrashing Inuyasha, quite literally, and at every pained grunt Kagome's hand tightened spastically on the smooth wooden grip of her drawn bow.

Inuyasha was in no state to be fighting this battle in the first place. He had already been beaten up by a pack of demons earlier today, and though those wounds had been fairly mild they had slowed him down and exhausted him. And if that wasn't bad enough, Kagome had insisted that he take pain killers earlier when he refused to let her treat the scrapes and bruises; and those pain killers were making his movements extra sluggish.

 _Shit…how could I have been so stupid!? If he dies it's going to be my fault for shoving those pills down his throat!_ She thought to herself in agonizing torment, her mind whirling. The guilt over that was chewing her up inside, and she couldn't help but wince every time she thought about it.

He really wasn't doing well. He had already taken several severe blows to his chest which would have done less damage if the enemy hadn't managed to somehow blow off his robe of the fire rat earlier in the fight. It was probably because he had been in the middle of putting it on after having taken a bath. Once again, that was Kagome's fault because she had insisted that he should go and at least clean his own damn wounds in the river if he wouldn't let her disinfect them.

She still didn't know what his problem was. She had treated his wounds before, though perhaps not on his chest per say. She had never bandaged his chest or stomach, but it wasn't as if she didn't know how. After all, she had watched Kaede bandage his torso many times and she had personally bandaged many cuts on his arms, so she didn't know why he was being so finicky about taking off his shirt now. But her insistence on his scrapes being cleaned had ended up exposing him to much greater danger, and once again she felt a surge of guilt prick at her as another gash was laid upon his shoulder, easily cutting through his white kosode. The white was already stained with so much of his blood, it was amazing he was still standing.

Her attention was drawn away from the ever so slightly wobbly Inuyasha, back to the enemy as an evil cackle cracked through the air.

"Ahahaha! And here I was hoping for a challenge, Inuyasha! How disappointing." The black haired, wind wielding, evil woman exclaimed. "How shall I make this more entertaining for me?" She wondered aloud, casting her eyes around before landing on Kagome.

Kagome sucked in a sharp breath at the look full of dark mirth and bad thoughts. She knew good and well that nothing pleasant could come from that look, and she had to literally force herself to not shrink under the red eyes of the woman. She would not show weakness dammit! She was determined to be strong. _I cannot let her see that I'm afraid of her; it'll only make things worse. I can't be the weak link anymore, I just can't! I have to hold my own._

At the new direction the enemy's line of sight had taken, Miroku instinctively started taking the protective beads off his wind tunnel hand, but was stayed by a firm grip coming from Sango. "You can't! Your wind tunnel still hasn't fully healed from the wounds inflicted by that praying mantis demon!" She urgently whispered.

"She's right Miroku, you can't risk it!" Kagome seconded, without ever taking her eyes off Kagura's red ones. She somehow just knew that if she broke that stare, bad things would happen.

She vaguely saw out of the corner of her eye that Miroku grimaced but reluctantly re-wrapped his hand in the beads, taking up his staff instead. Sango took up her weapon as well, despite them all knowing it probably would be useless against this particular demon. She used a giant boomerang, what good would it be against a demon who could control the wind and knock it right out of the sky?

Kagome, wasn't overly paying attention to them however, she was focused on the fact that Inuyasha was now clear of Kagura, and she had a clean shot. This was her chance! She could hit her right between the eyes if she wanted to. She could shoot her and finish this right now…only…she would have to actually _shoot_ her for that to work. Her fingers quavered just a smidge. She had shot a human-shaped demon only once before, and it had been Naraku, in the heat of the moment. She hadn't thought twice about it at the time, but it had been in her dreams often enough since then.

Many nights she dreamed of pulling her bow back and letting fly an arrow, only for someone to end up pierced on the other end, and it was always someone she loved that had been slain. More often than not, it was Inuyasha who starred in those dreams. His history of getting shot with arrows probably hadn't helped her overactive subconscious. Or rather, it _had_ helped … helped to make terrible, horrifying nightmares that made her wish she had never taken up a bow to start with. She didn't think it was her fear of accidentally hitting a loved one that made the nightmares; so much as it was the fact that she had shot an arrow at someone, with the sole purpose of killing that person. It didn't matter that he had been the evil demon that wanted to kill them all and destroy the world, it still pricked at her conscience.

She was afraid of herself, afraid that she was turning into a killer. Was turning into a monster herself.

So this time she hesitated. Even though she knew this woman was a demon, and was threatening all of their lives, she still hesitated, and she hated herself for it. A cold sweat made her skin clammy and her fingers all the more slippery as she held her bow at the ready position. _"Damn it…."_ She whispered under her breath, gritting her teeth and trying to force herself to uncurl her fingers from the string to release the arrow.

She hesitated too long.

A wicked gleam lit Kagura's blood red eyes and she lifted the hand that grasped her fan, flicking it towards Kagome. A spiral of wind sliced down from the sky and landed on her, the air currents tightening around her arms until the bow was forced from her hands. Miroku tried to slash at the wind and break its hold on her, as did Sango, but neither of their weapons were any use against the bands of wind wrapping ever more tightly around her, feeling like they were crushing her bones.

She cried out weakly, in a wheezy sort of way, as a particularly hard squeeze forced all the breath from her body.

"Kagome!" Miroku and Shippō both shouted, their voices meshing with Sango's as she yelled, "Hang in there Kagome!"

But one voice was louder than the others, if a bit strained with pain. Inuyasha yelled her name desperately as she was picked up and brought over to the witch.

Of course Kagome could barely hear any of them, the wind whipping around her was so loud it was making her ears ache. That was a mild discomfort in comparison to the way she could feel the wind beginning to crush her, and she couldn't help a small choked groan that escaped her as the winds tightened even more. It felt as though the winds were compressing her flesh, pulverizing it, and she knew that if she escaped this, she'd be lucky if she didn't have any broken bones. She sure as heck would have a bunch of nasty bruises at the very least. It felt like her whole frame was _creaking_ almost, which didn't seem like it should be humanly possible.

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

"LET HER GO!" Inuyasha roared, his white ears slicked back tight against his head and his fangs bared.

The fear of seeing Kagome being crushed like that was enough to send his heart into a panic, and it felt as though someone had punched through his ribcage, grabbed his living heart in their fist, and then squeezed mercilessly. The stark terror was swiftly followed by rage, and the rush of intense emotion left his mind utterly blank. He was no longer aware of his injuries, or the pain, all he was aware of was getting Kagome free of that evil woman's clutches.

With a burst of speed that he had previously been unable to achieve he dashed across the wind-scarred field, raising Tessaiga and roaring an incomprehensible battle cry. The bitch's eyes widened a bit in shock for a moment, but then she leered and blocked his downward slash with her wind, forcing him back.

"It's hopeless you stupid mutt. I control the wind. You cannot defeat me!" She yelled triumphantly, sending another barrage at Inuyasha.

Suddenly, a quiet voice caught the attention of both the wind bitch and Inuyasha, and his ears twitched at the soft tones that he knew so well, making his head jerk towards the black haired girl currently trapped in a wind funnel.

"You wanna bet?" She choked out, and suddenly a pinkish light blossomed under the wind wrapped around her, and she fell to the ground, coughing spastically and clutching a glowing arrow tightly in her fist.

The winds died around them as they were purified by the presence of Kagome's sacred arrow, and Inuyasha crouched, ready and waiting for his chance. The bitch's face turned white as she realized that she was about to be on the receiving end of the Wind Scar and she swiftly turned to flee. Kagome tossed the arrow away and Kagura's winds resurged, not completely under her control this time, and collided with Inuyasha's to create a wind scar he could use. She wasn't quite fast enough and Inuyasha slashed his sword through the swirling rift, sending rays of golden light scorching out at her.

He wasn't entirely sure he had even gotten the witch, and suspected the ashes left floating in the breeze were only from a bit of her kimono he had caught as she flew away on that weird feather thing she always escaped on. As always he found himself growling and cursing as Naraku's incarnation managed to get away from him while still alive.

But he was somewhat distracted by Kagome. As the sparse ashes fluttered to the ground he realized just how fucking close he had come to annihilating his friend as well.

Somehow he had felt her as he created the sword strike, and had been able to route the blades of destruction that radiated out of his sword around her. As everything settled down, everyone could see how the typical deep gashes had been formed slightly wonky. Kagome sat in between two deep trenches, but it seemed the marks were much denser on either side, and that the space she sat in was significantly wider than any of the other gaps. It was pretty obvious that he had somehow been able to prevent the sword from causing her any damage, and even he was shocked by it. He had done it instinctively, the same way he did just about everything, and so he hadn't even really realized he had done it until confronted by the evidence.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

She screamed as the blades of light descended, fully anticipating the piercing pain of those shafts cutting her. When it didn't come, she gingerly opened her eyes, never realizing that she had closed them in the first place, and took in the destruction on either side of her with a slight feeling of sudden lightheadedness. She was utterly shocked by the fact that she wasn't dead. _How did Inuyasha…he…did he somehow control the way the Tessaiga cut through the wind scar? I should be dead…how am I not dead right now?_

Her shocked dumbness came to a swift end as she saw Inuyasha keel over and fall flat on his face, thankfully not skewering himself with his own sword in the process.

She got up onto her still shaking legs and staggered her way as expediently as she could to the fallen half-demon's side, falling to her knees as soon as she reached him. She winced as the ground collided painfully with her full body bruise, but ignored it at the moment so she could dig her fingers through the soft mane of silvery white hair that had splayed out every which way from the face plant Inuyasha had performed. She also ignored the way her heart started thumping stupidly fast just from having her hand in his hair, and focused instead on hunting out his throat and checking for a pulse.

A breath of relief escaped her as soon as her fingers met his warm skin and she was reassured by the steady beating of his heartbeat, but even so, she could feel moisture, and when she pulled her hand back it was coated in red. He was grievously injured, and thankfully Miroku and Sango had made it down the slight hill and were also there now to help lift him and carry him back inside the small hut they had been taking shelter in prior to all this mess.

It wasn't ideal to stay in the same place, but really, Naraku could probably find and assault them whenever he chose, so staying put wasn't exactly going to increase their odds of getting attacked too much. The only problem was probably simply the amount of Inuyasha's demon blood spattering the ground near the hut. That might very well lure more demons, and so as soon as Inuyasha had been laid on the mat of bamboo reeds inside the hut, Miroku set off at a brisk pace to purify the area and to set up a protective barrier that would help keep anything unwanted out.

Sango and Shippō meanwhile ran to get some water and set about starting a fire outside, preparing some supplies for Kagome to treat Inuyasha with. So, the dark haired teen from another century was left alone in the small hut with her half-demon companion. Her fingers were still shaking, and she couldn't help but feel all the left-over anxiety from the battle rush through her. Adrenaline still pumped through her veins, and she felt pretty darn unstable at the moment. Watching Inuyasha being so thoroughly beaten, one of the few such times, was exceptionally difficult for Kagome to deal with. As usual, the more times he was hit, the harsher and more painful were the echoing sympathy twinges she felt on her own flesh. The pain was merely a phantom, not real, but it still made her flinch whenever he was stabbed through the gut, or slashed, or beaten to a pulp even though she knew he wouldn't die as a normal human would.

And still, she refused to really think about why. Her deep affections for the dog-demon were unreturned, and she typically preferred to keep her intense crush to herself. Friendship was fine, and she would treat these wounds, as any friend would. She would certainly not get all flustered by having to remove his once white kosode, or at least that was what she firmly told herself, and then proceeded to ignore the blush heating her cheeks.

The heat died away, to be replaced with cold horror at the sheer amount of damage he had sustained across his torso. Deep gashes carved him up and down his muscular frame, and some long ribbons of flesh were hanging loosely, exposing the tendons, muscles, and raw tissues underneath and oozing copious amounts of thick blood. She could even see white strips which she had to assume were in fact his ribs. Kagome hustled now, her thoughts focused solely on stopping the bleeding, which even for a strong half-demon such as him could prove deadly if left unattended.

She carefully, and gingerly, gripped the hanging pieces of skin and tissues, and laid them back into the grooves where they belonged, piecing him back together like a puzzle. But first, she used the water that Sango had sanitized by boiling. She dipped similarly sanitized cloths into the water, waiting until it was warm and wouldn't burn her, and then carefully cleaned all the dirt, twigs, grass, and other stuff that had found its way into his wounds. As soon as he was cleaned up, though the blood continued to flow and make everything just as messy as before, she set about trying to close his wounds somehow.

With how fast he would heal, she couldn't really use sutures, so instead she dug in her med kit she had brought from home and took some tape meant to be used on wounds and cut thin strips to hold everything where it was supposed to be. After everything was taped in place, she took gauze and packed it tightly against his heavily bleeding injuries, before taping it on as well.

She worked quickly, not even fazed by the warm skin that her fingers brushed up against, though it normally would have flustered her. She was much too focused on getting him bandaged, and much too disturbed by the wounds. She didn't even notice Sango or Shippō, although she thanked them absentmindedly whenever they handed her a cloth or a strip of tape. After a little while they left, not wanting to get in her way. She didn't even notice.

Even after he was bandaged, she sat next to him and continued to apply pressure to his deepest and bloodiest wounds, alternating to try and get them to all stop bleeding. Eventually they did, and she breathed a sigh of relief, the bandages already soaked through. She didn't remove them right away, frightened she would reopen the wounds if she did, and instead she set about sorting through some of the herbs she had brought with her, beginning to prepare a poultice for when he awoke. She did have some arnica gel with her to help with pain, but it would do little to help prevent infection.

As she worked, she hardly noticed her own pain, although every now and then she would wince as she put her knee down on a stone, which would have been uncomfortable enough without the bruises. Eventually, once she had done all she could, Sango lightly placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Kagome, he's going to be fine. You know how fast he heals. Just let him rest, you have injuries that need to be tended to as well you know."

Kagome blinked, almost having forgotten about that. "I'm fine Sango. Besides, I should probably change his bandages now…"

"I can do that!" Shippō said from beside her, and she jumped, not even having noticed him reappearing. Kagome grimaced, realizing she must have been really out of it when she was tending to Inuyasha, to have been so oblivious.

"Come on." Sango said, using a little force on Kagome's shoulder to make a point, and Kagome cringed, the pressure on her bruise making her realize that, yes, she was indeed in a lot of pain.

She nodded, for fear that Sango would continue squeezing her very tender shoulder, and stood. She followed Sango and they went to a secluded spot near the river. Kagome removed her school shirt, only just now realizing that it had quite a few gashes in it from where some sharp rocks had been caught up in the tight wind she had been restricted by.

"Darn it! I just replaced this uniform only two weeks ago…" She groaned, taking in the little blood stains and holes in her uniform.

"Um…well, maybe you shouldn't wear it? You always complain when it's torn after all." Sango reasonably pointed out.

Kagome sighed, a bit depressed but realizing that Sango was actually probably right. She had been wearing it as a reminder of her "real" life, but maybe it was time to start wearing more appropriate clothes for her adventures. For example, her thighs and legs would have probably been a lot less cut up if she had been wearing pants….

But wearing pants was such a pain! Kagome had always preferred skirts, thinking they were both prettier and more comfortable, but maybe it was time to reconsider.

"Yeah…I guess you're right Sango."

"Well, just let me clean up these cuts and then we can put some of the ointment you brought from home on your bruises okay?" Sango said simply, already gently swiping a cloth across Kagome's shallow cuts.

Kagome winced and said "ow" pathetically a few times, but she received the treatment more stoically than she once would have. When she first came she would have complained and been a real pain, not used to the bumps and bruises this sort of adventuring required. But she had slowly gotten more used to the physical demands, and now it was a little easier for her to sit through this without squealing and struggling like a little kid.

Once she was all patched up, Sango brought her the giant yellow pack she had taken to bringing with her, and she dug around in it until she found a simple, pretty blue long sleeved shirt, still deciding to stubbornly wear her dark green skirt. She slipped on the new shirt and packed away her uniform shirt.

Once done, she went back into the hut to check on Inuyasha, and found that he was still passed out and was bleeding through his bandages again, forcing her to repeat the whole process and get the bleeding under control again. His blood stained the bandages she had put on her own fingers where they had been cut by the bow string.

He didn't wake for another full day, during which time Kagome tended to him tirelessly, first fighting his persistent blood loss, and then sitting beside him once his wounds finally started healing. Naturally he waited until she was fiddling with his bandages again to open his eyes.

She was just checking to make sure everything was healing up properly, and was in the process of reapplying the salve to the rabidly closing wounds, when the muscles under her hands first twitched and then heaved forwards, knocking her back with a startled squeak. The high pitched sound was mostly due to the fact that he had sat up so abruptly, and with so little warning.

"Inuyasha! You're awake!"

"What the…What are you doin' Kagome?" He sputtered, his golden eyes wide instead of rolled back in his head like they had been for the past 24 hours.

"I'm just reapplying a poultice to your wounds. They're mostly all closed now, but a few of the deeper ones still need treatment."

He glanced down at his chest, which was partially bandaged and partially in the process of being rebandaged. He huffed and made a tsking noise that sounded like "teh" and then gruffly said, "I'm just fine."

Before Kagome could really protest, he had brushed off the poultice and was already pulling his stained kosode back on. She did try, even going so far as to grab onto the hem of his shirt and growl threateningly, "If you don't let me treat those wounds I'll tell Kaede not to feed you!" But to no avail, he simply brushed her off.

"Stop hovering Kagome! I'm fine I tell ya!" And so saying, left the hut entirely, leaving a very frustrated and hurt Kagome behind.

"I can't believe him!" She said under her breath, though rather loudly, and smacked the ground, wincing regretfully as a shot of pain went up her bruised and hurt hand. Tilting back off her knees, she plopped onto her behind, ignoring the fact that she even had bruising there, and grunted in a dejected manner, trying not to sniffle. "That stupid Inuyasha, he didn't even say thank you…."

A wave of irritation and sadness washed through her. She hated this, the distance Inuyasha forced between them tearing her apart. Sure, he still carried her on his back, but ever since Kikyo had come back to life, using _her_ soul she might point out, he had been a lot more standoffish. Of course, she had only really known him a few months before the whole soul-transfer-Kikyo-being-reborn-in-an-oven thing, but it had seemed like he might actually _like_ her before that. He had been more touchy feely, he had gotten in her personal space more, he had even kissed her on the cheek! Now, even though he touched her, it was with a certain aloofness, if you could really ever use that word in reference to Inuyasha. But it was as if his bright golden eyes held a lot less warmth when he looked at her, almost as if they were shuttered or guarded.

She knew he loved Kikyo, and they had a huge history and past to them. There was no way she could compete; she wasn't even from the same time period as the other priestess. Plus, Kikyo was prettier, stronger, more sure of herself. Kagome doubted that Kikyo ever would have hesitated to let fly the arrow earlier that would have killed Kagura. In fact, she probably could have put a stop to it much sooner and prevented Inuyasha from getting so injured in the first place.

Kagome heaved a sigh, putting her head on her raised knees, feeling so pathetic for moping like this. She had decided to stay, even though she knew Inuyasha would never feel the same sort of feelings for her. Heck, she didn't even know what exactly she herself felt for the half-demon. She knew she had a crush on him for a while now, but lately she couldn't help but wonder if maybe it was more than that. Naturally, it would probably be best if she didn't think too long and hard about it, because it would only make her more depressed.

For a long moment she sat there, moping while her chest ached with the dejection she was feeling, but after a while she felt a familiar irritation taking over, the heated emotion easier to deal with. Anger was always her safety net. If something was frightening or saddening she would prefer to be angry, especially when it came to Inuyasha. That dog demon somehow always knew how to push her buttons in just the wrong way. Embracing the frustration, she roughly wiped away the few tears that had made her eyes red and her nose stuffy and stood abruptly. She stomped out of the hut, letting the anger mount as she went.

As she came outside, Kagome spotted Inuyasha and the others a short distance away and stalked over, piping hot by the time she got there.

"Fine Inuyasha, if you're feeling so fantastic then we should get going. I'm going home." She spat and stalked back to gather her backpack and bicycle.

* * *

OTHERS POV

* * *

The others were left blinking and rather surprised, before they all looked at Inuyasha and almost in unison said, "Inuyasha, what did you do this time?"

He scoffed. "What?! I didn't do anything, I just told her I was fine and not to fuss over me."

Everyone groaned in unison, knowing exactly how Kagome would react to being essentially given the cold shoulder after having spent the last day and a half tirelessly treating his wounds.

"You are not incredibly smart when it comes to women Inuyasha." Miroku observed, just shaking his head and sighing in defeat.

"What?!" He protested once again, as always, seemingly oblivious to most things when it came to women and feelings.

"Kagome was the one who treated your wounds the whole time you were passed out. She might have even saved your life this time. You were bleeding a lot, too much even for a half-demon with your constitution to have been able to recover from if left untreated. She changed your bandages about six or seven times whenever they bled through and applied pressure to the wounds to stop the reoccurring bleeding." Sango said sternly.

"She was really worried about you too. She never left your side, except when Sango forced her to go and treat her own wounds. She just sat next to you the whole time." Shippō added with a frown.

"Wait…Kagome was hurt?" Inuyasha latched onto that information, intentionally ignoring the rest and the way it made him feel.

"Yes, of course. She's basically a walking bruise after being constricted in Kagura's wind funnel." Miroku said, still not looking at Inuyasha since he was so exasperated with the white haired man.

Inuyasha winced, feeling even worse now.

* * *

KAGOME

* * *

Kagome meanwhile was packing up her belongings, and once packed loaded her backpack on her bicycle and pushed it to the little dirt road that led to the hut. They were pretty close to the village, maybe only a day away or so, and she didn't feel like she needed to wait for the others to set off. Some alone time would do her good.

She peddled past the group that were still doddling next to the path and yelled, "I'm going ahead."

She heard a few protests, the loudest being from Inuyasha ironically, but she just ignored them and peddled faster. She couldn't stand being around Inuyasha at this particular moment, and she couldn't bring herself to really care about just how immature she was acting. She was just a teenager dammit! She was supposed to be worried about finishing her senior year and graduating from high school, not saving the world from some super demon who wanted to get ahold of a crazy powerful jewel. She was under enough stress as it was, adding in relationship issues was just too much for her.

Peddling as hard as she could was good for her, it let her get some of the frustration out and as her muscles began to burn and her skin started to sweat, she felt her mind go blissfully numb while her emotions continued to rage in her chest. Eventually even those died away somewhat, calming slowly from the high intensity.

After an hour she slowed down, getting off her bike and walking beside it at a sluggish pace, waiting for the others to catch up. It took a while, but eventually she heard the swift padding footsteps that were normally much more rapid. Inuyasha must have really still been in a bit of pain for him to not be running at top speed, although that was entirely out of character for him. In fact it sounded like he wasn't really exerting himself very much at all, and when she glance back she noted how he was trotting ahead of the others who were riding on Kilala. They must have somehow convinced him to slow down his normally superhuman pace, or else he just didn't care too much about catching up with her. She didn't really blame him if that was the case, after all she had lashed out and made her anger known. Not that her being cranky with him had ever really seemed to discourage him before from coming after her.

Once they caught up with her she noted that Inuyasha was once again wearing his fire rat robe and so it was impossible for her to tell if he was bleeding again. He probably was. But he would just have to deal with it and she would just have to worry about him in silence, because she sure as heck wasn't going to beg him to let her take care of him. He had made it abundantly clear that he didn't want her helping him with his injuries. Maybe he'd let Kaede once they got back to the village, though she didn't know if that would make her feel better or worse about it all. She would worry less at least, but it would hurt to know that it was _her_ touch that he was avoiding.

Shippō immediately began asking why she ran off like that, and Kagome played it off as her being eager to get home, continuing to ignore Inuyasha. Nobody believed her, that much she could tell, but thankfully they didn't press her. It was an uncomfortable and awkward atmosphere as they made their way back.

As soon as they were in view Kagome took off for the well, and unlike usual, Inuyasha just let her go, only sending a single look after her before sighing and walking off to find a tree to sit in somewhere. The others watched this with varying amounts of frustration, confusion, and sadness on their faces. It was blatantly obvious that Inuyasha had been putting a wall between himself and Kagome ever since Kikyo had returned. She had been popping up at the oddest moments, more and more frequently lately, particularly when Inuyasha was weak or injured. In fact, they were all half-expecting her to make another appearance soon, given his current state.

They were all beginning to wonder if she was stalking him or something.

Meanwhile Kagome had made it to the other side of the well, and was now making her way to her house. She spoke little to her family though they greeted her and she was sure she said something in passing as she made her way up to her room. Once there, she began the process of emptying out her yellow pack, methodically, and almost numbly putting all the dirty clothes in the hamper and going on a hunt for more suitable fresh clothes to wear. She settled on simple shirts, none of her prettier blouses, and picked out a few solid colored t-shirts and long-sleeved shirts. She dug deeply through her dresser to find an old pair of pretty cherry red gloves. The backs closed with black straps on her wrists that had a single white flower the button. She had used to wear these when riding her bike in winter, but now they would help with riding her bike and also with her archery. She cut all the fingers off them except for the two on the hand she used to draw back her bow strong. That would allow for more ease of movement and would still pad her hands when riding her bike.

She had made up her mind to become stronger, to really practice with her bow and arrows. Maybe it was because she had frozen up this last battle, or maybe it was because she had to be rescued too often, or maybe it was because Kikyo was so much stronger than her and she felt jealous and inadequate. Whatever the case, it was a good thing for her to do if she planned on continuing on with this adventure. So with that in mind she also dug into the very back of her closet and retrieved the plain black kneepads, elbow pads, and wrist guards that she had used for the short time she had played with rollerblades and skates. It had been a very short phase, but she could still use these pads now.

She packed a few extra skirts, and then, with much grimacing, she packed the only pair of pants she owned, a pretty green pair that were loose and had pockets on the sides. She used these sometimes on camping trips with lots of hiking. Those trips were far and few between, but she could still fit into them comfortably. She also packed some thick tights for when they ended up in colder climates so she could still wear skirts.

Spending so much time on actually considering what might be useful was acting as a good exercise to keep her mind busy and off Inuyasha. So she took her time, methodically placing everything into her bag, resupplying her medkit, trying to ignore the smears of blood on the kit that were from Inuyasha's wounds. She also packed more snacks, and any other supplies she was running low on. Then she collapsed onto her bed, deciding to take a quick nap.

Naturally, given how exhausted she was, her nap lasted longer than she had intended, and by the time she woke the light had changed to evening. With a spark of panic and surprise she leapt to her feet and grabbed up her pack, lugging it out hastily. Her family waylaid her for a few minutes, convincing her to stop and eat very quickly, after which she hustled back to the well and dropped down.

She was still uneasy, but the space had helped to clear her head and she felt a bit better, a bit more optimistic. That is, until she saw Kikyo and Inuyasha embracing against a tree on her way back to the village. She stopped dead in her tracks, only having the awareness to step behind a tree a little before they could see her. Her eyes were glued to them, despite how much she wanted to tear her gaze from the painful scene.

They were pressed closely together, and so naturally she had to assume they were embracing, though a few stunned moments later it became apparent that it was more of a headlock of some sort, Kikyo grabbing onto Inuyasha's head in an almost combative manner. Even so, Kagome could feel the pit of her stomach drop down, seeming to vacate her body entirely. Her stomach's escape left behind a gaping airy hole that ached in her abdomen; a sensation that was nicely counterbalanced by the heavy stone in her chest threatening to crush her heart. She wasn't sure if she wanted to throw up or cry, but both were entirely possible.

She had never seen them so closely pressed together.

The shock had numbed her to everything but the uncomfortable sensations and pain and emotional turmoil within her, but after a moment she picked up on their voices, made soft with distance, and she managed to make out some of the words spoken.

"You are mine Inuyasha! You will not die by any other hand than mine!" Kikyo said passionately.

With just as much passion Inuyasha also proclaimed, "And _you_ are _mine_ Kikyo!"

Tears blinded Kagome to the scene, which was a blessing. The words could be considered those of a lover, and that was certainly how Kagome interpreted them at this moment. Why did this hurt so much? How could it, when she knew this sort of thing was bound to happen? A crack sounded through the air, and Kagome jerked her head up to note that Kikyo had struck Inuyasha, or at least that's what seemed to have just happened, and now he was staggering back from her, and she was disappearing the way she always did.

Kagome just stood there, trembling and unsure about what to do. Her breathing, or her scent, or something else alerted Inuyasha to her presence, and he turned, his golden eyes glowing in the darkness of the twilight and latching onto hers. There was a message within those animal eyes, a message Kagome didn't want to see, and she abruptly turned and fled. She intended on going back to her own world that very second, but skidded to a halt at the rim of the well, feeling like she should at least go and drop off the supplies she had brought.

With a heavy, aching heart that felt as beaten and bruised as the rest of her body now, she turned and made her way back at a very slow pace, hoping against hope that she wouldn't run into Inuyasha again. She plodded past Miroku, and ignored his greetings, or rather didn't even register it. She missed his sour expression and the way he immediately turned to go and hunt down Inuyasha.

She finally made it through the doorway of Kaede's hut, and pasted on a fake smile, dumping out the supplies and cheerfully explaining what she had brought and that she had to go now, all without letting either Kaede, Sango, or Shippō get a word in edgewise. As she turned to leave, she was stalled by a warm and gentle grasp on her elbow and she came to a shuddering halt, her face turned away from them since her smile was gone now and she couldn't seem to summon it back.

"Sango and Shippō, will the two of ye go and find Miroku and Inuyasha." As they nodded and left, Kaede also said something very quietly to Sango, so quietly in fact that Kagome couldn't pick it up.

Once they were alone Kaede released her elbow and waited patiently for her to turn around. When she didn't, she simply started talking to Kagome's back very softly. "What is wrong child?"

"What do you mean? I'm fine Kaede." Kagome said, her voice utterly at odds with the words coming from her mouth.

"Don't take me for a fool." The words were harsh, but said gently.

Kagome flinched and said nothing.

"Is it Inuyasha?" Kaede continued to probe, getting an even stronger flinch this time in response, confirming her suspicions. "I see. What has he done this time?" When her question once again got no response, she continued her line of questioning. "Is it mayhap Kikyo?"

And that finally got a response, as Kagome's legs suddenly gave out and she harshly sat on the ground, her bruises all protesting. "…yeah…" she said weakly, sniffing as tears started leaking out of the corners of her eyes.

Kaede walked around her and sat in front of her, calmly waiting for her to tell her what had happened.

Kagome broke, and the floodgates opened. "She…she showed up _again_." She sobbed. "Why won't she leave him alone?! Does she still love him or something? I thought she hated him and wanted to kill him … and … and even _then_ he still loves her!"

Kaede just remained silent and let her speak until she was done, only watching in sympathy.

"I-I saw them…embracing or something…and they said…he said… _damn it_! Why does this hurt so much?! I already knew he was in love with her."

"Ye truly don't know why it hurts?" Kaede asked softly.

"Well…I mean I know I have some feelings for him…but it shouldn't hurt _this_ much." Kagome protested, at her wits end.

"And what do ye suppose those feelings are?"

"Huh?" She glanced up in surprise at the older woman's question. "What do you mean?"

"What are your feelings for Inuyasha?" Kaede patiently repeated.

"I-I like him. I mean, I have a crush on him."

Despite the strange terminology, Kaede understood the jist of what Kagome was trying to say, and she disagreed. "Are ye sure that's all?"

"W-what?" Kagome sputtered, unsure about what Kaede was trying to get at. But then she started getting an uncomfortable prickly feeling, sort of a premonition of bad things coming, and she began to see what Kaede was trying to get her to say. "You think I'm in love with him?!" She gasped, nearly keeling over in shock.

Kaede just calmly kept eye contact and nodded.

"B-but, I…that's…that's impossible! I couldn't…there's no way…why would you…how could…I…I can't be in love…not…not with him. Not when I _know_ he's in love with someone else!"

"Ye can't control how ye feel. Even if ye know it is a fruitless emotion." Kaede wisely pointed out, watching solemnly as Kagome dissolved into a sputtering sobbing mess as she tried to make sense of it.

The tears only got worse as Kagome had the immediate and instinctive realization that Kaede was right, she had indeed fallen in love despite herself. She curled into herself, cradling her body and rocking a little, not even caring about how pathetic she must look as she cried so completely. Why had she not realized it sooner? And now what was she supposed to do? Inuyasha was in love with Kikyo!

Kaede scooted forward and gathered her up in her arms, holding her and rocking her a little as she cried. Kagome clung to her and buried her face in the old priestess's shoulder to try and muffle her sobs. After a very long crying jag, she slowly started to trickle to a halt, hiccupping along the way.

"What do I do Kaede? He's in love with Kikyo." She said miserably in a small voice.

"Ye have several options, Child. Ye can stay here and continue on as ye have been, knowing he chooses Kikyo over ye and accepting that. Or ye can attempt to fight for his affections. Or ye can go back to your own world and leave him behind."

Kagome groaned and buried her head in her knees.

"Try and judge what would give ye the most happiness and what would bring the most pain. Leaving him entirely would certainly bring great pain, but perhaps would lead to more happiness in the future. However, staying would also lend to great pain, but perhaps also happiness."

Kagome flinched, not liking to think about it, but knowing that she must come to a decision. Should she stay? It would hurt to see Inuyasha continue to love Kikyo, and there wasn't any way she would fight for his affections. She had some pride.

Maybe she should just go back to her own time. But if she left she wouldn't just be leaving him. She wouldn't ever see Kaede, Sango, Shippō, Miroku, or any of the other people she had met here. She had grown to love all of them as dear friends, and never seeing any of them would be a deep blow. And then there was Inuyasha himself, and as she contemplated the prospect of never seeing him again she abruptly felt the intensely unpleasant sensation of her guts twisting and writhing, until it seemed they crawled up her chest, strangling her heart in the process, and then tried to exit from her mouth, almost making her dry heave. That, in and of itself, almost decided it for her. She simply couldn't imagine a world without Inuyasha in it, and trying to was causing her much more pain than watching him with Kikyo ever had.

Then, that meant she was staying. And as she thought about it, she grew more and more convinced that even being able to be by his side as his friend was better than nothing at all. Plus…she didn't fully trust Kikyo's intentions. She knew Inuyasha loved Kikyo, but she still didn't know if Kikyo returned the sentiments. She had already tried to kill him when she was first brought back, and as Kagome thought back to it, those words she had overheard _"No one but I can kill you,"_ were very threatening. She wouldn't put it past her to try and kill Inuyasha again, and though it seemed that Inuyasha himself was fine and dandy with that, Kagome was most certainly not. If nothing else, she had to stay and protect Inuyasha from himself. She couldn't bring herself to respect his wishes to die with his love, and even though it was most probably selfish on her part, she resolved herself right then and there to do all she could to prevent that from ever happening.

Once decided, a lot of the pain left her, the confusion and indecision having caused a surprising amount of it.

"I'll stay." She said, her voice much calmer and even now.

Kaede met her gaze and nodded, a smile appearing on her lips. "That is good to hear. We would have sorely missed ye."

* * *

Author's Note:

I'm back! If anyone has read my stories before, you have an idea of what's coming. Adventure, anguish, love, fun, .etc.

This story's gonna follow some of the plot, deviating here and there, and sometimes taking bits and pieces and shoving them together totally out of order, which you probably already noticed. Don't worry, I know they're out of order, I made it that way on purpose.

Also, eventually there may be some...lemony sequences, which I will put up warnings for in case anyone wants to skip them.

And finally, if you like Naruto, and if you like Gaara, check out my previous story Crash and Burn. Don't be alarmed by the size, I'm going to be editing it to a more manageable length soon.

Bye for now!


	2. Chapter 2

When she met Inuyasha outside the hut she was much calmer. She was ready for the way his eyes met hers, that same unsaid something inside of them, a question in the yellow depths. Before he could say anything, she just smiled and said, "So! Where are we off to this time? Any new leads?"

Everyone but Inuyasha shared looks of surprise at Kagome's mood change, but before any of them could question her about it, Inuyasha reached out and grabbed her wrist, gently but quite firmly, and started dragging her away, much to everyone's amusement and consternation.

"W-what are you doing Inuyasha? Let go!" Kagome sputtered, not okay with physical contact quite yet. She got no response right away and was left to sputter in protest as she summarily got escorted to a new location.

Once far enough away from the others, Inuyasha released her and turned to face her, crossing his arms. "You should go back home Kagome."

 _Geez, he could be nicer about it, talk about blunt._ She huffed mentally. Aloud, she said, "I'm not going anywhere. Why would I leave?"

Inuyasha grimaced, for once looking uncomfortable. "Look…Kagome, I…Kikyo died because of me. I owe her my life."

"I know. And you love her." Kagome said softly, glancing off to the side. "And she still…I guess wants to be with you, despite everything." She paused, and then after a long silence she heaved a sigh. "That's something she and I have in common."

She heard Inuyasha suck in a sharp breath. It was left unspoken that Kagome had any romantic feelings for the half-demon, though he must have suspected _something_ to be so obviously uncomfortable about this whole thing. It was as if he felt like he was cheating on her, which when you really thought about it, was ridiculous since there wasn't actually anything between them. Sure she loved him, and it had seemed as though maybe he felt something in return for her a while ago, but it had never been spoken. She might have just imagined that he was showing signs of liking her that way.

There wasn't anything really left for them to say, so they silently made their way back to the others.

After that, things were a bit easier between them, though every time Kikyo showed up Kagome still felt her hackles raise. For the next month or so, they continued on as they had before, hunting demons and jewel shards, and helping people in need whenever they came across them, despite Inuyasha's protests. Kikyo showed up more and more often, and Kagome became more and more convinced that she had motives other than just loving him, if she even did that much.

Maybe it was Kikyo's shadow that was looming over her and making her feel so inadequate, but Kagome spent the whole time they were traveling trying to get stronger.

Every night she left the others once they had all fallen asleep, and she went off into the woods just a little ways to practice archery, tacking up paper targets on trees and working on her aim. Then she began putting faces on those targets, Naraku, Kagura, even Kanna. She had to get used to the idea of actually shooting someone. She had to get used to the idea of killing.

It was one such night that Miroku found her.

She was shooting arrows a good distance from the campsite tonight, having made absolutely sure that everyone was asleep, even Inuyasha who had a bad habit of interrupting her and pestering her about what she was doing.

The current arrow notched on her bowline was aiming at a tree at least fifty feet into the forest from her, and she was concentrating intensely on the bullseye set between the red eyes of Naraku. She'd had someone paint a likeness of him, and had been lucky enough to get an artist who happened to have a great deal of talent with rendering realistically. She had taken the sketch back home and altered it in the computer and printed out copies for her to shoot. She had done the same for the rest.

She did her best to picture the target as a living person, and a fine tremor ran through her arm, but this time she let the arrow fly, and it sank between the drawn red eyes, though a bit more shallowly than Kagome would like. It sparked and sputtered on the way, and once it hit the paper a little ring of black surrounded it from where her spiritual powers singed it.

"Very good! Your aim has improved immensely."

Kagome jumped and swung around, holding her bow like a weapon to smack someone with.

"Woah!" Miroku yelped and dodged the red smooth wood, a few sparks of her energy popping at him as it swung through the air an inch over his head.

"Oh! I'm sorry Miroku! You scared me." Kagome gasped, clutching her long bow.

"No worries. It was my fault for startling you." He chuckled, unperturbed.

After a moment he urged her to continue, and she did so reluctantly, feeling self-conscious.

"You know…you've been able to summon more spiritual power to your arrows in the past. Do you suppose it's because these aren't real enemies that you can't now?"

"I don't know how to do that on command." Kagome admitted. "I just shoot the arrows, and they seem to glow sometimes and other times they don't."

"Oh. Well if you would like to learn how to control your spiritual power I could teach you."

"You could?"

"Well yes. I am a monk after all." Miroku said pleasantly.

"That would be awesome Miroku! Thank you!" She clapped her hands, a thrill of excitement making her want to start right away.

And so, he began to teach her, and slowly she grew familiar with the feeling of the spiritual powers within her and how to draw them forth, and once called how to apply them to what she wanted. As it turned out, Kagome had an immense amount of spiritual power, which was something Miroku had already suspected given their various encounters with demons. And so he had to then teach her how to bless her arrows so they wouldn't break under the immense pressure she put them under, and likewise they specially treated her bow, enhancing its power and ability to hold and channel her spiritual energy.

They made a side trip to a monastery, Miroku saying that he needed supplies as an excuse. Neither he nor Kagome had told Inuyasha about his training her, because she had wanted to keep it a secret. The fact that she wanted to get stronger was not necessarily something she needed to hide from him, but since her reasons were involving Kikyo in a big way, she still felt the need to hide it from him.

At the monastery, Miroku borrowed her bow, much to everyone's confusion, and when he came back it almost seemed to glow, at least to Kagome's newly trained eyes. At either end of her bow was now a small golden ring, around which were threaded several more small rings, similar to the end of his staff. A blessing had also been painted delicately under the new grip.

"Thank you Miroku…." Kagome said, absolutely stunned by the gift.

He shrugged. "I was having my staff serviced, and decided you could use some upgrades. We all have highly specialized weapons, and yours was lacking."

His blowing off the gift normally would have aggravated her, but she was thankful now, especially given the way the others easily accepted the explanation.

After those upgrades, Kagome found her bow to be a much heftier weapon, and she couldn't wait to have an opportunity to show off her new abilities. Sure she had hidden her new powers from Inuyasha, but now that she was stronger, she had the confidence to not feel like she was under Kikyo's shadow anymore.

As fate would have it, she got that opportunity in a rather spectacular way.

The newest lead had them hunting down some very strange soul stealing demons, who took the souls right out of a dying person's mouth. There had been a rash of them around a few villages, and as they traveled in that direction they began to hear the stories. And so naturally they went to investigate. The stories led them to a large mansion that evening, one where an actual request was being put forth instead of Miroku's normal made-up fare to get them a place to stay for the night.

"My main concern is my daughter…the princess. She has been in a coma for the past few days, and we can't ward off the soul stealers for much longer. She's not long for this world and we want her soul to find heaven, not be stolen by these evil fiends!"

"Leave your daughter to me…I will protect her with my life!"

Naturally that was Miroku, and everyone rolled their eyes as he leapt to attention at the words "daughter" and "princess." Never mind the fact that she was on her death bed…

"Has a healer been called?" Sango asked, which seemed like a very reasonable question given the situation.

"Yes. He should be here tomorrow, and may be able to awaken her, though it is unlikely. But in her delicate condition those demons have been hunting around…." The poor man seemed about to have a nervous breakdown, and thankfully Miroku put his smooth talking skills to a productive use for once and soothed the older man's nerves.

They were all shown to a very elaborate suite where they were given a very nice meal. Afterwards they all settled in to wait. It was already evening so they didn't have to wait long before night fell over them, heralding the time for them to go and keep watch over the princess. And so they took shifts, two of them going and sitting next to the princess for several hours at a time. Right at the start, Miroku received a summons, supposedly the other princess had asked for a personal guard as well, and he had naturally jumped at the opportunity. And so it was up to the rest of them to combat the demons.

Inuyasha and Kagome took the first shift.

Kagome couldn't help but be creeped out by the unconscious princess for some reason. Maybe it was because they were treating her almost as if she was already dead, a very thin sheet placed over her, even her face. There was a miasma in that room, probably from all the demons who had been thwarted so far, judging by what the old man had said, and it was highly disturbing to poor Kagome, who had an almost constant stream of shivers going down her spine. It probably didn't help that this whole thing had to do with souls, bringing ghosts and the like to mind, and she had been roped into watching a very scary ghost movie the last time she had returned home and actually spent any time with her friends.

As a wind crept through the outside and made the branches of the nearby plum tree creak and rattled the door to the room Kagome nearly crawled right out of her skin, grabbing her bow with a white knuckled fist and scooting right up into Inuyasha's side. He flinched and his white head whipped around, the shocked yellow eyes wide and staring at her with bemusement.

"What the…what's wrong with _you_?! You scared or somethin'?" He huffed, leaning his head and shoulders back a smidge but letting his hip and side stay in contact with her. His ears twitched back and forth, as if unsure whether to point at her in attention or slick back in confusion and discomfort.

"No…I'm not… _scared_ exactly." Kagome grumbled, but the unsure statement was made even less convincing by the way her wide eyes darted back and forth and by the tremors that shook her, translating to Inuyasha through where they touched.

"Uh huh. Sure you aren't." He drawled sarcastically, earning himself a light smack on the shoulder.

The smack was a bit more sturdy given the fact that Kagome was wearing her arm braces she had brought. Inuyasha ignored it and faced forwards again, doing his best to ignore her, while Kagome attempted to calm herself down. The warmth that she absorbed from Inuyasha's body helped immensely, and she found her trembles easing as she leaned into him. His ears kept swiveling around, listening to the sounds outside and also twitching towards Kagome almost spastically.

That only lasted a few scant minutes, as suddenly a white light glowed from under the sheet, and a white mist seemed to rise from the body in front of them. Kagome saw that, jerked, and abruptly found herself behind Inuyasha, having scrambled behind him so fast she wasn't even sure how she had managed it. At the same time a tiny, squeaked epithet spat out of her mouth, one of the few in Inuyasha's presence. Her fingers dug into his shoulders and she peeked out from around his long white hair, while clinging to him.

He tilted his head back and craned his neck to observe her with one sparkling eye, the amusement obvious in it. "Did you just cuss?"

"Yes! What the heck is that?!" She asked, her voice still much too high.

"The girl's soul I'd guess. It's probably being drawn forth by the demon miasma."

They were interrupted by a long white demon snaking through the air, looking like a mix between a flying snake and some sort of insect with its six legs. It entered through the door and made a beeline for the hovering soul, grabbing it in its little claws.

"There you are! Come here so I can kick your ass!" Inuyasha bellowed, launching off his haunches and leaping towards the white thing, drawing and swinging his sword in a second. Kagome snapped to attention, but didn't really have anything to do since Inuyasha had already sliced the head off the snake-thing.

"Was that it?" She asked, shocked it could be that easy.

"Not likely." Inuyasha huffed, and they both poked their heads out of the door when they heard the loud sounds of a commotion coming their way. Thinking it was another demon attack they ran out onto the covered porch, and then stalled, seeing Miroku in the midst of an epic battle … with the younger princess. She seemed to have him in a rather impressive strangle hold, and was shrieking like a banshee. Kagome was abruptly glad she only had to deal with the demon and a passed out princess.

Inuyasha cocked his head as he watched the unfolding drama, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips and his ears twitching in amusement, but lying flat whenever she started up with another sonata of wailing.

"Poor Miroku." Kagome snickered, behind her hand.

Inuyasha snorted and said, "Poor nothing. He's been askin' for it. It's all his fault he's in that mess."

Sango likewise didn't seem concerned in the least, just leaning against the wall and grinning from ear to ear as Miroku tried to foist the young woman off onto Shippō, who yelled almost as loudly as her and started squirming and kicking wildly.

They were all distracted when a whole troop of white demons floated by in the sky, and Inuyasha and Kagome immediately set off, leaving the others, most of whom were still trying to disentangle themselves.

In fact, they left so abruptly in pursuit that Kagome's head was left spinning. Inuyasha was apparently having hound-like tendencies tonight and the thrill of the hunt had got him, because he had grabbed her arm and swung her on his back before she really knew what had happened. She was left to scramble for purchase, her legs locking to his sides purely from muscle memory, having done this quite a bit now, and her hands clawed at his shoulders for a second before getting a hold of him. She spat out a mouthful of white hair. He ignored her less than graceful mounting and was off like a shot, hot in pursuit.

Inuyasha worked on instinct most of the time, so it wasn't at all uncommon for him to set off like this, but it always jarred Kagome whenever she was lucky enough to be taken along for the ride. They darted along through the trees, and eventually the others caught up on Kilala, but by that point the demons had somehow disappeared again.

"Damn it! Those sneaky flying fuckers, they didn't leave a scent to track!" Inuyasha snarled, halting and peering around the forest top. Kagome sat up a little taller and also looked around for any hint of white glowing demon hide.

Kilala came close, perching in the air near the duo in the trees. "Anything?" Sango called down to them.

"Nothing." Kagome said back.

They all began hunting around, but the search proved fruitless for a long time, and they all began to think that maybe they had been lost for good. They split up, Kagome going with Miroku, Sango with Shippō and Kilala, and Inuyasha by himself. For several hours they plodded through the forest, coming up with a big fat zero for their efforts, and Kagome began to grow irritable.

"They just vanished!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up and huffing loudly. "Where the heck could they have gone?"

"I don't know. But we aren't having any luck. Perhaps we'd better meet back up with the others." Miroku sighed, coming to stand beside her.

They were just turning to plod back, when ironically a flash of white caught their attention through the dark trees.

"There!" Kagome yelled and immediately started to run, as did Miroku, both of them eager to catch the damn thing.

They followed it at a rapid pace, Kagome's lungs burning and a pain in her side making the exercise hard to keep up, but she doggedly persisted, ticked off enough to push on despite the discomfort. She was so focused on the target that she failed to realize when Miroku had suddenly run full tilt into a barrier and had been thrown back, while she easily passed through, not even feeling it. She continued to run, until with a shriek she tumbled right over a steep incline, losing her footing in the loose leaves coating the ground and tumbling down the hill. She was exceptionally glad she had worn her elbow and knee pads, but even so, by the time she skidded to a halt at the bottom she was covered in dirt and scratches and bruises. She had managed to hang onto her bow through sheer luck, and her arrows were still in her quiver.

Pulling herself into a sitting position with a groan, she sat and panted for a moment, then shook her head, leaves tumbling out of her hair to land around her. Finally she looked up, to notice the large tree in the middle of a clearing, and within its low branches a priestess was draped.

Kagome brushed herself off and stood, her legs a bit wobbly but usable. However, as she approached the sprawling tree she grimaced, noting that the priestess was of course Kikyo, and she seemed to be sound asleep as the white demons circled her, almost like pets. What was she doing with these soul stealing demons? Was she using the souls they stole?

Kagome came to a halt standing near the base of the tree looking up at the other woman. A scowl twisted her face and she felt a sour sensation in her stomach, as she observed Kikyo's pretty features, so much more even and lovely than her own. Why did Kikyo have to be so much prettier? Even Inuyasha had said so; it was one of the first things he had ever said to her in fact.

The feelings of jealousy clogged up Kagome's veins, and she shook her head, trying to disperse them. It wasn't right for her to think such nasty thoughts about a women who had done nothing wrong. She had just loved Inuyasha, gotten caught up in a terrible situation, was killed, and now was probably merely a shadow of her former self. If anything, Kagome should feel sorry for her. A surge of guilt set her nerves on edge, and she gritted her teeth, looking away.

She would feel a lot more sympathy for Kikyo if she wasn't constantly after Inuyasha.

"So, my barrier didn't stop you." A smooth voice sounded from above her, and Kagome jerked, her eyes once again aiming upwards to the now awake priestess.

"Oh! Uh…barrier?" She stammered, not sure about speaking to the other woman.

Kikyo stood and then gracefully stepped out of the tree and floated to the ground in front of Kagome. She just looked at her, and then eventually said, "What are you doing here?"

"We were after those demons." Kagome pointed to the white things twining in the air around Kikyo. "What are they? Are they your pets? Did you know they've been stealing souls?"

The question was answered for her when a new one flew up, clutching a glowing soul orb, and handed it off to Kikyo, who gently held it in her hand, seeming to absorb the luminosity into herself until it disappeared entirely.

Kagome stared, blinking rapidly in shock. " _You're_ stealing the souls?"

"I don't have a full soul, thanks to you. To survive I must borrow others."

"But…" Kagome stalled, and finding herself less interested in the ins and outs of Kikyo's soul stealing, and more interested in finding out some of the answers to the questions that had been plaguing her lately. "Wait, you know what, never mind. I have other questions for you."

"Oh?" Kikyo's dark eyes lifted and caught hers.

"Yeah. Just what is it that you want with Inuyasha? You've been popping up more and more lately. Do you love him still? Or do you want to kill him?"

"I do not feel inclined to answer your questions." Kikyo said mildly, and with a gesture, her snakes lunged forwards and wrapped around Kagome tightly, dragging her back and slamming her against the tree trunk. They bound her to it tightly.

Kagome choked out a gasp, the demons wrapped around her were way too tight, crushing her ribs. "Ow…" She wheezed. "W-what are you doing? Release me!"

"No. Do you not feel Inuyasha's approach?"

With another gasp Kagome whipped her head around, and sure enough, Inuyasha's enormous power signature was detectable to her newly tuned senses. Miroku had done a good job training her. "Inuyasha! Darn it…what do you plan to do Kikyo!?" Kagome yelled, struggling against her restraints and clenching her useless bow in her hand.

"He is mine…Do not concern yourself with what I choose to do with him."

That really set Kagome's teeth on edge and she cried out in fury and stress as she struggled even harder. Something was telling her that Kikyo was planning nothing good, maybe it was the way she had so casually attacked her. She couldn't be the woman Inuyasha had fallen in love with right? She must be a different person now, because Kagome couldn't imagine Inuyasha falling for this cold person standing in front of her.

As Inuyasha skidded onto the scene, Kagome immediately began yelling to get his attention, but quickly realized she must be invisible because he completely ignored her. She sat and stewed, quieting in impotent frustration. There was nothing she could do but watch as Kikyo met a bewildered Inuyasha and answered his questions with a softness in her voice that Kagome couldn't for the life of her determine the validity of. She couldn't tell if she was being honest or fake. It was obvious that the wobble in Inuyasha's voice was not fake in the least, and Kagome hung her head and closed her eyes, feeling a single tear making its way down her cheek as her heart squeezed in her chest. He obviously still loved Kikyo.

Even though she had known it, the proof, right here so close in front of her was killing her, ripping her apart from the inside, and Kagome couldn't help but think that Kikyo was cruel to tie her up and force her to watch it unfold. As the other woman asked the man she loved if he would stay with her, forever, Kagome had to open her eyes, afraid of what was about to happen, and her terrified gaze was confronted by the sight of Kikyo holding his head and pulling him to her as he said yes. Her lips met his, and his eyes flew wide in surprise while Kagome's filled with tears and her heart broke into a million itty bitty pieces. She did not want to see this, she did not want to be a witness to Inuyasha's and Kikyo's embraces, she did not want to know what all they did in the dark when they met at night.

Although, judging by just how shocked Inuyasha appeared right now, it seemed that this was the first time Kikyo had been quite so daring. Kagome wished she had chosen a different time and place for it though, and couldn't help but wonder if she was doing it on purpose now, to show Kagome that Inuyasha was hers. All she could do was grit her teeth and look away as they kissed for what seemed like an impossibly long time, at least to her. But her attention was forced back on them when she heard a rumble and a light appeared behind her closed eyelids.

When she looked back, Kikyo and Inuyasha were standing in the middle of a glowing circle, and the ground from under their feet was slowly sinking.

"Then, join me in hell Inuyasha." Kikyo murmured, and a brief expression of fear zipped across his features before a steely expression of determination took its place. He nodded, and the ground around them started to crack and fall away.

"No!" Kagome shouted, not about to have Inuyasha die like this right in front of her.

She jerked against the snake things around her, and when they held firm she grew more and more panicked, and more and more angry. The emotions pulsed through her, making her breathless, and her heart pound while she could feel her spirit surging within her. Emotion was a strong trigger for the spiritual energy that she had been training with, and she used that to her advantage.

She writhed with all of her might, lunging against the tight bands of the demon bodies around her despite the creaks and groans she could feel in her ribs, and then all in one brilliant moment, she felt one or more of her ribs break with a splintering pain that sent shafts of agony through her nerves. She screamed in agony and in frustration and fear, and the bow still in her hand lit up like a firecracker. The glow touched the lowest demon wrapped around her and it screeched and flew off her, landing to writhe on the ground as it seemed to burn and disappear into nothing from the spot she had touched it. With the increased mobility Kagome yanked and twisted until the tips jabbed into the other bodies tethering her, and suddenly she was free to flop to the ground with a pained grunt.

"Ah!" she gasped, her other arm wrapping around her ribs and cradling herself as she struggled to her feet.

As she staggered forwards a step, Inuyasha's head whipped around and his wide eyes met hers. "Kagome?!"

She ignored him, too ticked off with the dumbass to really have any words to spare for him. "Kikyo! Release him right now! You're just manipulating his emotions! You don't really love him; if you did you would sacrifice yourself before dragging him into hell!" Kagome shouted, grimacing in pain as the exertion put pressure on her ribs.

"He's mine Kagome, and as you saw, he agreed to go with me." Kikyo responded.

"That's just because _he_ still loves you! See?! _That's_ real love…going to hell for the one you love…not asking them to come with you!"

"So? It's his choice."

Kagome clenched her fist and drew an arrow off her back. "Well to heck with that. It's the wrong choice! Maybe he wouldn't if he didn't feel like your death was his fault."

"Kagome…it's fine." Inuyasha said softly, and she spared him a glance.

Several tears streaked down her cheeks and she briefly grimaced, her eyes clenching closed for a few seconds as she grappled with the pain in her heart. "No! It's not okay! You will not die, just because you think it's your responsibility!"

"I want to be with her."

That one felt like she had been stabbed by the Tessaiga, might as well have been. Kagome felt her knees weaken and she forcibly stiffened them through intention alone. Everything within her ached, her heart more than broken, but shattered now and then the pieces crushed mercilessly.

"I DON'T CARE!" She screamed and in one fluid motion notched the arrow and aimed at Kikyo despite the pain in her ribs that made her feel like she was going to pass out.

Kikyo met her gaze. "You will lose him either way."

Kagome gritted her teeth. It was true. If she killed Kikyo, Inuyasha would never forgive her, and would probably hate her for all of eternity.

"Kagome! No!" Inuyasha yelled.

She had to act fast, because that crater was getting deeper. What was causing it anyway? An evil spell? Taking a risk, Kagome shifted her aim for the edge of the crater near them and launched her arrow, packing it with as much purifying spiritual power as she could.

It hit, and with a terrifying explosion of light everyone was tossed back a good ten feet, Kikyo and Inuyasha even further since they were closer to the initial blast. Kagome landed and a pained exhalation escaped her lips, the ground jarring her broken bones to the point that the agony made tears run down her face and the light get all wobbly for a moment as she fought to stay conscious. She lay there and sobbed for a moment, gasping in tiny shallow breaths of air. After a long moment, the dust and particles settled, and she managed to roll over with a whimper and lever herself up, only to find herself on the wrong end of an arrow pointed right at her.

She scrambled to her knees and grabbed up her own bow. Kikyo's arrow was glowing ominously. Inuyasha was also just peeling himself off the ground a little ways away from her, and when he saw what was going on he went pasty white and shouted something, but Kagome didn't know what it was he said, because she was much too focused on the projectile now heading her way at high velocity. Inuyasha made a mad scramble to try and intercept the death heading her way, but he wasn't fast enough thankfully. Kagome gripped her bow and channeled as much power as she could into it, before swinging it up in front of her to block the arrow, the sacred rings chiming musical notes at either end and a strong barrier emanating from the wood in her hands.

The arrow hit her barrier, stalled and then shattered, sparks and crackles zipping to strike the ground around Kagome. Kikyo's face remained stoic, but Kagome could still see the shock in her eyes. She stabbed the end of her bow into the ground and used it to pull herself to her feet.

"You will not take Inuyasha, Kikyo. Not until you kill me. So you're gonna have to do better than that." Kagome growled, for once sounding actually fearsome.

Inuyasha hesitated, looking back and forth between the two women with a fearful expression on his face, obviously torn and unable to decide what to do. It was clear then that he did care for Kagome, at least as a friend, and didn't want his crazy ex-girlfriend and her to kill each other. When he made to take a step in Kagome's direction, obviously wanting to protect her, Kikyo notched another arrow and let fly, this time right at Inuyasha, though Kagome could tell she was aiming not for his heart but instead for his shoulder, to pin him to the tree behind him at the edge of the clearing probably.

Kagome's arrow had already been notched and ready and so she shot it, managing to intercept the other arrow only a few inches from Inuyasha. It collided and knocked the other arrow spinning, both of them bursting into sparks and then shattering. Meanwhile, Kikyo had notched an arrow and sent it at Kagome, who only had a split second to dodge. It still hit her, in the shoulder instead of dead center in her chest where Kikyo had been aiming, obviously intending to kill her. The impact sent Kagome staggering back to slam into the thick trunk of the tree in the middle of the clearing once again. Her head cracked against the rough bark with a resounding bang, and her ribs screamed in protest. She felt another break that had cracked from the demon's constriction earlier and she coughed out her pain, only hoping nothing had been punctured from the broken bones inside her.

But she didn't have time to wallow in misery, and Kagome drew another arrow and aimed it for Kikyo's feet, shooting it before either she or Inuyasha could stop her. This one left a streak of light through the air as it passed, and when it hit it sent up a mound of earth and sent Kikyo flying once again. She wasn't going to kill her if she could help it.

Kikyo staggered to her feet, and the demons wrapped around her, lifting her into the air. She floated over to Inuyasha, and Kagome notched another arrow, breathing shallowly in little gasps and on every exhale either a sob or a moan came from her throat, in too much pain to really care. She held her arrow aimed at Kikyo, waiting to see what she would do. She simply kissed Inuyasha again, and then floated up into the sky, looking right at Kagome, a challenging light in her eyes that clearly said she still believe Inuyasha belonged to her as she disappeared.

Kagome let her bowline go slack with a gasp and she leaned back against the tree.

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

Inuyasha meanwhile, didn't know what to think.

He was furious at Kagome for one, for interfering in the first place when he had so clearly stated his desires.

How dare she? When he had said point blank that he chose Kikyo and wanted to die with her? He didn't understand what had driven her to go to such lengths to drive Kikyo off. He was seriously considering leaving and going after Kikyo, though after she had shot an arrow at him he was slightly less inclined to do so. That had shocked him, her willingness to use an arrow to prevent him from interfering in their battle. She had actually planned to pin him to a tree to stop him. That wasn't the Kikyo he knew…but even so….

And then Kagome had shot an arrow and actually managed to deflect the one aimed at him, shocking the hell even more out of him. He had been left in a stupefied daze, watching the rest of the battle without even really seeing it, until Kikyo was suddenly in front of him and pressing her cold lips to his once again. That had brought him out of his stupor real fast, and he had only just gotten with the picture when she was already floating up and away from him, disappearing once again into the night.

So now he was left, his chest aching, his head throbbing, and so fucking confused he didn't know what to do with himself. So he turned to Kagome, upset and angry and started yelling, not even noticing that she had an arrow sticking out of her shoulder.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

And then Inuyasha started yelling. "W-what the hell was that? I told you to leave off didn't I? But you just had to go and pick a fight with Kikyo. Why? You nearly got yourself killed!"

"So did you!" Kagome shouted right back, wincing as it hurt her ribs.

"I already told you that's what I wanted!" He bellowed, stomping closer.

"Well too bad! Gee, I'm sorry I stopped Kikyo from twisting and using your emotions to drag you into hell with her. Because any sane person would agree to that, sounds like a bundle of fun and joy!" Kagome responded, sarcasm dripping from her tongue, thick as cold honey.

Inuyasha sputtered, eventually managing to yell, "It's my fault she dead! I owe it to her to give her my life!"

"She's alive again!" she shouted, then muttered, "sort of" to herself before continuing with, "It's not your fault! You didn't kill her, Naraku did! And that's not even really her! Only a tiny warped piece of her that she stole from _**my**_ soul. Or did you forget that?!" Kagome gasped, coming to a breaking point and collapsed to her knees very slowly, propping her weight on the tree with a shaking hand and slowly lowering herself to the ground.

Apparently Inuyasha hadn't even realized she was hurt, because he was suddenly by her side, urgently asking, "You're hurt?!"

"Well yeah, duh! And what do you even care Inuyasha?!" Kagome whispered angrily, blinking away tears as she grabbed the shaft of Kikyo's arrow in her shoulder. A tingle zapped her palm when she grabbed it.

"Is that…Kikyo's arrow?"

"Again… _yes_. Were you not watching?" She huffed, taking a few, painful deep breaths and then yanking the arrow from her flesh in one clean stroke, unable to keep the cry from coming from her throat as she did. She missed Inuyasha's flinch, and tossed the thing away disgustedly.

She slumped back against the tree, the back of her head thunking into it. She hissed when a zap of pain bloomed and she lifted her head and brought a hand to the back of her skull. Her palm came away warm and wet and she brought it down to stare at the red blood staining her skin with some numbness.

It was at that moment that the rest came running in, having been banging at the barrier ever since getting separated. When Shippō came barreling towards her and launched into her lap she once again yelled in pain.

"I'm sorry! What did I do?" Shippō yelped, hopping off her lap and wringing his tiny hands in worry as big fat tears started dripping off his chin.

"D-don't worry about it Shippō…it's just a couple of broken ribs. No big deal." Kagome wheezed.

"Broken ribs?" Sango repeated, wincing in sympathy.

"What happened here?" Miroku asked, taking in the torn up ground and Inuyasha sitting off to the side, with nary a scratch on him, and then back to Kagome who looked like she had been thoroughly beaten.

"Kikyo." Kagome spat, and the other's eyes widened.

Inuyasha's ears flattened to his head and he looked away, obviously still very unhappy with Kagome.

"So, uh, did you catch them…" Miroku started, and Sango interrupted him with a brisk smack.

Kagome gritted her teeth. "Kikyo decided to try and kill Inuyasha."

"Why didn't you fight back Inuyasha?" Shippō asked.

"Yeah, I mean I know you love her and all, but if someone tries to kill you don't you think that's a pretty strong indication that maybe it's time to look for other options?" Sango said logically.

Inuyasha didn't respond, only standing abruptly and walking off.

Nothing got better within the few days it took to return home, Kagome being carted on Kilala the whole way since both she and Inuyasha refused to have anything to do with each other.

It was obvious to everyone that he felt terrible about her getting hurt, but it was also just as blatant that he hadn't appreciated her interfering in his and Kikyo's business, even if she had saved his life by doing so. They didn't speak the entire way back to the village, and once there Kagome went straight to Kaede's hut and he split off from the group.

"Ye are lucky child, none of the ribs are imbedded within your organs." Kaede said as she gently felt Kagome's wounds while she lay on her back and tried to keep her moans to a minimum.

"Ow…"

"I know. I am sorry, but I must ascertain if there is any other damage." Kaede said and continued to prod gently. After a while she sighed and sat back. "Thankfully the ribs aren't overly displaced. A tight wrapping should fix them after a month or so, though they will be tender long after that."

"A month?!" Kagome asked and sat up, only to wince and prop herself up on her elbows.

"Aye. If ye are lucky."

"Darn it all." She groaned.

And so, Kaede wrapped her ribs, and Kagome toddled out to join the rest, minus Inuyasha.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hi there! Wow! I'm amazed I got some followers already for this story, it's great to see there's some interest!

I decided to go ahead and post this, even though there haven't been any reviews. Typically I wait till I at least get one review before posting the next chapter, but seeing that I already have some people interested I decided to go ahead with it. However, I will not post the next chapter until I at least get one review! Reviews make the world go round, and writer's happy! It's also a way for me to judge if the story's worth continuing.

Anyways, hope everyone enjoyed the new and improved Kikyo/Inuyasha scene. I definately did not want Kagome to be a pushover in this story, she deserves a little bit of the limelight. Expect more fun to come!


	3. Chapter 3

For the next month Kagome was forced to take it easy, and could only restart practicing with her bow and arrows after two weeks, and only sparsely even then. So the others hung around near the village. Kagome found herself stuck in feudal Japan until she was able to pull herself out of the well, which took at least two weeks, maybe three. She could have asked Inuyasha for help, but given the fact that he still wouldn't say more than a handful of words to her at a time, she didn't feel comfortable doing so.

As unusual as it was for Inuyasha to hold a grudge, barring Naraku and Koga, he seemed rather stubborn about this one. Kagome was beginning to wonder if he'd ever forgive her for interfering in Kikyo's plan to drag them both to hell. Thankfully she hadn't shown up again since being beaten by Kagome, and hopefully it would stay that way.

Inuyasha meanwhile disappeared for long periods of time, hunting down shards and picking fights with any demon he came across. He'd come back to the village covered from head to toe in grievous wounds from his battles, and all Kagome could do was watch sadly as he only let Kaede treat him, and only the worst wounds. Even that was rare.

He seemed almost intent on getting himself killed, and maybe that was exactly what he was trying to do, since Kagome had stopped Kikyo from killing him. It was as if he was in some sort of state of crazy, as if he wasn't really all there or something. Kagome didn't really know what to make of it, just having to go with the theory that Kikyo must have knocked something loose in his head.

It only became more apparent when she was finally well enough to set off on their journey again, after going home for a bit to catch up with her time and family. Actually seeing how Inuyasha threw himself into battle was terrifying, and only cemented the idea that something was wrong with him. Getting upset shouldn't have set him off like this, and he only seemed to be growing more and more savage.

It all came to a head one day, when Miroku and Sango sent the two of them off on a seemingly simple mission. It was cut and dry, a normal demon who possessed a single jewel shard, was killing hapless travelers in a forest. "Nothin' doin'," as Inuyasha would say, and it wasn't necessary for them all to go. However, it was obvious that Sango and Miroku were trying to force Kagome and Inuyasha to make up, especially since Kagome's bike mysterious popped a flat tire for no good reason. Shippō seemed more or less oblivious to their plan.

And so, with much grumbling on both party's parts, they set off, with Kagome walking beside Inuyasha instead of riding his back as the others had obviously intended.

Kagome felt waves of uneasiness buffeting her from Inuyasha, and could practically hear the irritation like static electricity popping all around him. His ears, always a good indicator as to his mood, spastically switched from being in full alert pointy position and pinned back flat against his skull. He didn't seem very happy to find himself alone in her presence, and Kagome could understand the sentiment. She was highly uncomfortable herself, all the pain, irritation, frustration, unrequited love, and sadness over their messed up friendship made for a very not-fun emotional state.

Neither of them were happy campers, and eventually the slow pace seemed to drive Inuyasha over the edge. "Why are you so slow? Pick up the pace, Kagome!" He eventually exploded, coming to a halt and glaring at her.

She glared right back. "Well excuse me if I don't have super-human powers like you. I'm just a mere mortal, and I'm still freakin' sore!"

He just growled, huffing and puffing, for all the world looking like he was the big bad wolf about to blow her down, but eventually he just heaved a deep, long-suffering sigh and turned, presenting his back to her and squatting down a little in an obvious demand that she mount up.

When she hesitated he barked, "Get on already, I ain't got all day!"

She gritted her teeth and did as he asked, the familiar position uncomfortable in more than one way. It wasn't overly pleasant for her still somewhat sore ribs, especially as he started running at a quick pace, jarring her rather roughly. He also didn't support her with his hands under his knees like he normally would, and so she had to compensate by squeezing him harder with her legs, which quickly became rather painfully tiring, not to mention it forced her to feel his body and movements even more clearly. And then of course it was simply extremely awkward, since they still weren't even really on speaking terms and Inuyasha still hadn't forgiven her. For that matter, she hadn't exactly forgiven him.

Even so, she couldn't help but snuggle into his warmth, basking in the familiar feel of him under her, his torso that her legs pressed so tightly to moving in a way she was so used to. Even his warm scent that surrounded her was both soothing and thrilling, and she greeted it like an old missed friend. He bathed as much as Miroku, basically whenever they had access to fresh water, but traveling constantly and always exerting himself built up a sweat, so his scent tended to be more on the musky and salty end of the spectrum, but it wasn't unpleasant, and it had notes of fresh air, the wood and leaves of the trees he liked to sleep in, and a certain Inuyasha-ness that Kagome had begun to recognize only after months of riding on his back with her face full of his hair.

After the distance between them, Kagome couldn't keep herself from burying her face in the white mass of long hair, not pressing too hard because she didn't want him to know she was absorbing him as much as possible. But he had so much hair that she figured he wouldn't notice if she just nuzzled it a little.

They were soon running through the forest where the demon they were after was supposed to be located, and yet Kagome was unconcerned, and was more focused on Inuyasha than the potential dangers of their surroundings. That proved to be dumb, because with a shriek something launched from the trees and landed on her, forcing a shriek of her own to come from her mouth. Inuyasha's ears pinned back at the loud sound in his ear, and he bucked, whirling around and dropping her to the ground to knock the enemy off her.

She grunted as the sudden meeting of ground and body made her ribs ache a bit, but mostly she was busy grabbing her bow and swinging it wildly around behind her to try and dislodge whatever tiny furry disaster had latched onto her neck, where it was gnawing with rather sharp teeth.

"Gah! Get off!"

She jerked as the thing leaped off her neck, breaking the chain of the jewel shard she wore on a necklace and giving her a rather nasty chain burn on her delicate throat. Only milliseconds after it leaped off her, she felt the very ends of Inuyasha's razor sharp claws graze her neck as he took a swipe at it, missing it by a breath.

"Shit!" She heard him snap, and they watched as the ball of fur leaped up into the trees.

Inuyasha took off in hot pursuit, but skidded to a halt as the ball of fur underwent a transformation, changing from the tiny, rather cute looking monkey, who was apparently the little demon they were supposed to kill in these woods. It turned into a massive monster of a hairy monkey demon, complete with enormous bat wings that sprouted from its back.

"How come I don't have a cute sidekick named Toto yet?" Kagome protested weakly as she took a step back from the fearsome flying monkey.

Missing the Wizard of Oz reference, being unfamiliar with it of course, Inuyasha absentmindedly replied, "You have a cute side-kick named Shippō. What are you blabbering on about?"

Kagome could only snort, finding the situation beyond ridiculous. That perception shifted when Inuyasha launched himself into battle with the creature, and began to sustain a rather serious beating. The demon just kept getting bigger, the jewel shard making it more and more powerful. It grew horns, its tail grew a large poisonous looking barb at the end, and its fangs lengthened to the size of a saber tooth cat's. It wasn't so funny anymore, and Kagome scrambled for her bow and set about notching an arrow.

But she couldn't get a clear shot. Inuyasha and the thing were just a blur of flying fur and howls. She couldn't shoot an arrow without risking hitting Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha! Oi! Hey! Inuyasha! Hello?!" No matter how she called to get his attention to ask him to back off for just a second so she could shoot it, he ignored her, seeming utterly engrossed in the battle. The demon kept throwing him around and bashing him into trees, but he'd just pop back up, dripping in blood and launch himself right back onto the monkey, seemingly oblivious to his wounds and Kagome. He hadn't even drawn Tessaiga, just using his claws and fangs like an animal.

When the demon tossed him towards Kagome, to slam into a tree near her, she rushed over to his crumbled form, deeply concerned. "Inuyasha!"

He just snarled and a clawed hand swiped at her, making her stagger back and look at him in shock as he launched himself back into battle. His eyes had been glazed over, and seemed to be strangely glowing ever so slightly red. He didn't even seem to see her.

As she watched from the sidelines, the monkey demon literally mopped the forest with Inuyasha, the huge claws at the end of the monkey's paws ripping deep gouges into his flesh. Kagome could see that if something wasn't done, Inuyasha might actually kick the bucket, although in this case the bucket would probably be a tree, since he was hitting each and every single one within a good fifty foot radius.

It was up to Kagome apparently.

"Sit Boy!" She bellowed, and expectedly Inuyasha plummeted to the ground, leaving a clear target for Kagome's arrow. She let her bow sing as she released the arrow, packing it with spiritual energy. If it had hit, the demon would have been dead, but as it was, the demon had moved at the last minute, ducking to jump down and go after Inuyasha's prone form on the forest floor. But when the arrow grazed its shoulder it shrieked and swung around, the evil glowing eyes fixed on her now.

"Oh shit!" She yelped and swiftly notched another arrow, but not fast enough.

The thing barreled towards her at an insane speed, hitting her like a mac truck and swatting her bow right out of her hands and sending it flying off into the forest, probably a hundred feet away. Kagome herself was sent flying, and she landed on the other side of Inuyasha, rolling down a little hill, which broke her fall.

She scrambled back to her feet, wincing at the bruises, and hustled back up the short incline, to nearly stop dead in her tracks. The sight of the demon prowling towards Inuyasha, who was still pinned to the ground from her command, nearly froze her blood in her veins. She shouted and waved her arms around to try and get its attention off her comrade, who was yelling into the dirt. Though she couldn't hear what he was yelling, it was pretty safe to say that it was probably mostly bad language. The monkey demon glanced back and forth between her insane waving and him, but then seemed to decide on Inuyasha, probably because he was closer to the demon and stuck helplessly on the ground.

It started towards him again, claws unsheathed and ready. Kagome moved before she even really processed the thoughts behind it. All she knew was that she had to save Inuyasha, who was vulnerable, once again because of something she had done. She didn't have her bow, so the only thing she could do was use herself as a shield. She ran, her body acting purely on instinct, and she landed hard on hands and knees above him. A mere second later she jerked as she felt the impact of an enormous paw smack her, and she rocked forwards, nearly knocked off her hands and knees. The blows came again, almost completely dislodging her from Inuyasha time and time again, but she somehow managed to stay put. She dug her fingers into the moist forest soil, forcing her hands under Inuyasha and holding onto his clothes fiercely, depending on the spell that pinned him to the ground to keep her from being tossed off.

This close she could make out what Inuyasha was saying, rather loudly, into the dirt beneath him, and heard him say, "Run Kagome! What the fuck are you doing? Get off of me and save yourself!"

All she could say was, "Not happening."

Inuyasha kept up with the constant stream of protests and cuss words, urging her in the strongest way he could possibly think of to stop shielding him and get herself to safety. Kagome eventually grew tired of it and spat, "Haven't you realized yet that I'm not going to just stand by and let you get yourself killed?"

Her attention was naturally not really on Inuyasha's words though, since she was a bit preoccupied with the demon hitting her from above. She was more concerned about the force behind the physical attacks, since they were threatening to send her flying off Inuyasha. But, the claws that sliced into her weren't particularly fun either. Thankfully she was able to robe herself in a somewhat weak spiritual shield, so the claws weren't able to shred her flesh the way they obviously were attempting to do. But they still cut into her a bit since she could only manage a thin shield, not used to even putting one up at all without using her bow as a focusing and amplifying device. All she could do though was deal with the discomfort of the pain and stay put, hopefully for not too much longer, just until Inuyasha was able to peel himself up off the ground.

After she didn't move and didn't seem to be getting mortally wounded, the demon apparently gave up on that method, and when the blows stopped coming Kagome hesitantly raised her head and craned her neck to get a look behind her.

When she glanced back she saw the tail rising over its back almost like a scorpion's, the sword-long, spear-like barb at the tip gleaming and dripping something nasty looking. All she had time for was to yelp an epithet and try to beef up her shield before a sharp pain stabbed into her back, almost feeling like it was right on her spine, and she grunted at the sensation of something thick and sharp penetrating her flesh. The shield had stopped it from going in all the way, which would have certainly killed her, but it still got through somewhat, enough for several inches to imbed into her back. It hurt, much more than she ever would have expected, and a choked groan made its muffled way from between her clenched teeth.

She didn't even notice the now even more concerned and frantic words coming from Inuyasha beneath her, or the way he was straining to pull his necklace up from the ground.

The demon seemed to be trying to skewer her all the way through, and it ever so slowly was applying more and more pressure to try and force the barb through her shield. She gritted her teeth, and gathered her strength to send a burst of power to her shield, sending sparks flying, and the demon shrieked, the tip of its tail probably fried. Kagome gasped as the stinger, or whatever it was, jerked and then yanked free, feeling like it was taking some of her flesh with it. She was in sensorial over-load, the pain numbing her brain as it spread, the stabbing sensation quickly turned into a burning, and Kagome's arms wobbled and then gave way completely, dropping her limp body onto Inuyasha underneath her. She didn't even really notice the way Inuyasha had gone frighteningly still.

Her shield finally broke, and she was left defenseless. She fully expected to feel either the barb stabbing her all the way through, or claws to rip her apart. But then Inuyasha abruptly surged beneath her, forcing himself off the ground and Kagome slid off him to land on her side in the dirt. She didn't really feel like moving, and so just stayed where she landed, only bothering to sort of sit up a little so she could watch. For a long moment Inuyasha stood in front of her, and a deep growl began to come from his chest, lower and more menacing than she had ever heard before. A powerful aura began to seep from him, one that even Kagome could feel with her exhausted spiritual powers, and a shiver worked its way down her spine as what almost seemed to be an intense demonic miasma filled the air.

Something within Inuyasha had snapped it seemed, and he was after the demon faster than she could track, his claws slicing through the air more viciously than ever before. Kagome blinked, in utter shock as the demon was dispatched within a matter of seconds, cut into so many pieces that blood and flesh fell down to the forest floor like a heavy rain. Inuyasha stood there, panting and growling and it almost sounded like he was chuckling for half a second, and then his head swung around and she got a look at his face. His eyes were glowing hot red, the whole eye not just the iris, which had turned a weird blue color, and an amaranthine streak marked each of his cheeks under his eyes, long enough that they disappeared back under his hair.

He looked half crazed, his eyes wild and feral and when he curled his lip in a snarl he exposed rather hefty fangs, much longer than normal. Even his claws were longer than usual. His intense eyes landed on her and she flinched a little, the look in them so menacing it startled her. But really, she was just glad that the demon was gone, because she was pretty much tapped out. And that burn was really starting to bug her, the pain throbbing from the stab wound on her back sending shafts of blinding heat through her body with every pulse of her heartbeat in that spot. The pain was slowly radiating outwards, affecting more and more of her. It was obviously poison, and she could only hope it wasn't lethal, although something told her it probably was.

It was even making her dizzy, and she found herself tilting more and more, putting weight on her arm, and then as Inuyasha started towards her she lost her balance, her arm temporarily giving out and dropping her to the ground where she lay still, aching all over. She felt almost like she had the flu, but it was one hell of a flu, the aches so bad that her muscles were spasming. She began to feel hot and cold, getting shivers, and the fever like sensations were only getting worse by the minute.

As soon as she keeled over Inuyasha's approach changed from a stalking sort of thing to a run, and by the time he was landing on his knees next to her his eyes were back to normal.

"Kagome! What's wrong? Where are you hurt?"

"I'm…okay… the cuts aren't that bad…but, I think it was poisonous…." Kagome managed, with a lot of panting and wheezing breaking up her speech.

"Shit!" He cussed and reached out and cupped his hand over her shoulder, gently tugging and rolling her onto her stomach. "Fuck!"

"Hm?" Kagome grunted in a questioning way, not liking his assessment of her back.

"Damn. Holy…fuck. Kagome…you're all torn up. W-what the hell happened?" Inuyasha sounded completely shocked and appalled, his voice downright gravelly and harsh in his upset state.

Kagome gingerly brought her arms up and propped her upper body up a little so she could twist her neck and try to get a look at her back.

"Nn-don't-juswaitamin…Kagome!" Inuyasha sputtered, nearly incomprehensible in his distress as he tried to convince her to stay still.

It was useless anyways, she only managed a glance of blood and shredded shirt before she had to put her head back down. Even sitting up this much had given her vertigo, and suddenly she was wracked with shivers and tremors as the hot and cold flashes got worse, accompanied by new waves of nausea.

She groaned and sunk back to the ground abruptly, Inuyasha quickly getting his hand in between her head and the ground as she nearly did a face-plant. He caught her cheek and gently laid her back down, her head turned and facing him now, although her vision was mostly taken up by his knee.

She closed her eyes and relaxed as much as she could, just trying to go to a happy place in her head and not think about the pain wracking her body and getting worse.

"Shit, Kagome, you're covered in sweat. And you're shivering like you have a fever…are you sick too?"

"No. I think it's the poison." She mumbled.

"Right! Poison…uh…you mean the claws were poisoned? But I don't feel anything….."

"The tail, that stinger thing got me in the back."

"Oh…" Inuyasha said, finally getting with the picture, and he started hunting for the spot, which seemed to be difficult since he started poking around all over her back. "Teh…" He did his distinctive huffy tsk sound and grumbled about not being able to see anything because of her shredded shirt.

"I'm just gonna cut it off okay?" He eventually huffed, and Kagome nodded in agreement.

She felt the light touch of the tips of his claws against her skin as he delicately ripped through the shredded remains of her shirt, making a big hole around her sliced up skin. He hissed and started cussing some more as he got a better look at it.

"Yeah, I see it now. Right here right?"

She flinched when she felt his very light touch on the skin next to the stab wound in her back. "Yep," she yelped, her voice a little squeaky.

"It's all red, and kind of purple. Well, I mean there's lots of blood and that's red too, but it's extra red there…."

Kagome just snorted at his rambling, finding it strangely endearing. It was so nice that he was talking to her again; she just wished it hadn't taken her getting so hurt for him to snap out of his funk.

However, when she first felt his hot breath and then his mouth on the wound she jerked, squeaked, and then yelped, "What are you doing?!"

He spat and said, "I'm going to suck out the poison. Duh."

"Oh…."

Once again she felt his mouth on her, and then he was sucking at that spot of pain and a zing of agony seared her nerves and poison rushed to that spot. She hissed and flinched, but tried to stay still, all her muscles tensed as she forced herself to not squirm. After a moment of suction he raised his head and she heard him spit whatever he had sucked out of her onto the ground.

"Yuck…that's some foul tasting poison I tell ya. No wonder it's hurting you so bad, anything that disgusting's gotta be evil." He spat again and then dipped back down to suck on the wound again.

It hurt just as much as the first time and Kagome grunted, her fingers digging into the ground and holding on for a little sanity. This wasn't fun in the least. She only held still through sheer willpower, which was draining rather quickly since she had exerted so much effort within the past half hour or so.

After another spit, Inuyasha murmured, "Sorry, I know this has to hurt. But that tasted just as nasty, so there's still lots of poison in there. I gotta keep doin' it okay?"

"Yeah, but I don't know how much longer I can stay still for it…." Kagome answered on a groan.

"Don't worry about it."

Before Kagome could question him about why her squirming around wouldn't be a problem, he was at it again. She gasped and jerked, doing her best to not follow her instincts and buck him off, but it was a quickly losing battle. The area was already in a lot of pain from the slashing it had gotten, and the constant messing with it wasn't helping. She was getting progressively sorer, and that was only making things worse.

On the fourth go she lost temporary control over her muscles and her body jerked, trying to throw him off. Inuyasha's mouth was torn free, which only hurt her more, especially since one of his fangs caught her skin in passing. She quickly realized what he had intended with the "don't worry about it" statement, when she felt one of his hands land on the back of her neck, above all the cuts on her back, and his other hand landed on the base of her spine, nearly on her butt. He gently, but very firmly, pushed down, pinning her in place.

In any other situation she would have sat him in a heartbeat, but at the moment she was just glad that he knew how to hold her down successfully without injuring her any further or hurting her wounds. It let her relax a bit, though when he sucked out more poison she still tried not to buck and writhe too much since it hurt her wounds. But when her muscles automatically twitched and she jerked, her torso was held still by his hands. Thankfully, it was starting to feel a little less painful on each pass now as the poison was removed and less of it was present to make her wound throb and burn quite so much.

After a while he relaxed his hold on her, and spat one last time before saying, "That's all I can get, your blood tastes clean. But you've probably already absorbed some of it into your system so we need to get you back to Kaede as fast as possible."

Kagome just nodded sluggishly, pretty much out of it by now. The poison wasn't burning through her as strongly now by any means, but she still felt like she had the flu, all achy and shivery, and there was no doubt some of the poison had already made it into her system. Plus her back was still very painful, the cuts not poisoned, but still slicing her nerves and making her flesh raw and bloody. Over all, she wasn't having a good day.

She felt Inuyasha slip his hands under her and he gently pulled her up into a sitting position and then zipped around in front of her, fast enough that as she started tipping to plop over again, he was already there and she just face-planted into his back instead of the ground. He helped her drape her arms over his shoulders and then grabbed her legs, holding her up as he slowly stood, staying a little bent over to help her stay on. He began to run, still leaning forwards a little, and apparently doing his best to run as smoothly as possible since she didn't feel nearly as much jarring as usual.

"You're injured too…" She protested his carrying her, her words starting to sound a little mushy as her mind slipped more and more towards darkness.

"Not as much as you, and I'm used to it. This is nothing for me." He grunted, and she left it at that, not wanting to get into an argument.

With the tiny bit of her brain she still had access to, most of it an unusable mush of pain and exhaustion, she couldn't help but feel touched by how gently he was treating her, probably showing more consideration than he had for the entire time she had known him. It was kind of odd, the abrupt reversal from cold to so tender after her protecting him, for the second time. Of course the last time she had tried to protect him had resulted in the cold shoulder in the first place, so it was odd how the same action could garner such different results this time.

In her drugged, drunk, nearly passed out state, she mumbled, "S' weird tha' yur so nice after I saved you. Las time I did tha' you didn' speak to me fer a month."

She felt him flinch under her, though she didn't really process what it meant. After a long moment of silence, the only sound being the swift padding of his bare feet against the ground, he said, "Different circumstances then Kagome. You know why I was mad."

She didn't really remember too well at the moment, since she was so incredibly exhausted, but she did remember it had to do with Kikyo…though that wasn't really the point right now.

"Yeah but s'not like you'd've done anythin' different, if it was you in my shoes. You'd prob'ly have killed her."

Once again he flinched under her, and she nearly lost her tentative grip on him, not that it was really doing anything to hold her up. He was mostly holding her weight with his hands under her knees. He didn't respond this time, and eventually she sighed and nuzzled her face into his long white mane of hair, the poison having successfully sapped all her filters from between her brain and everything else.

"Sorry." She eventually muttered, her words slightly less slurred as she really focused and tried to say her important apology. "Not sorry for saving your life, but sorry for putting a rift between us. I know you'll probably never forgive me, but jus' wanted to say that…." And then she finally passed out, the pain drifting away.

When she woke she was now lying down on something large, moving, and furry, and figured they must have met up with the others. She peeled her eyes open and was unsurprised to see the tan and stripy fur of Kilala under her nose. Then she let her eyes fall shut once again, actively trying to pass out again since the pain throbbing through her body was so dang unpleasant. As she groaned and shifted in aggravation and discomfort she felt hands grab hold of her, very carefully placed so they wouldn't hurt her.

"It's okay Kagome, you're on Kilala and we're almost at the village. Just a little longer okay?" Sango's voice soothed her.

"Just try and sleep if you can." Miroku added from behind her, surprisingly not taking the opportunity to grope her butt. She must look pretty pathetic to keep his pervy tendencies at bay.

Even Shippō's voice chirped at her, "Don't worry Kagome! Kaede will patch you up in no time."

"Thanks guys…." She groaned, and did her best to black out again.

It didn't quite work, but she was definitely in a bit of a daze by the time she felt them landing. She felt many hands picking her up and moving her, sliding her down Kilala's side and then draping her over a familiar back. Inuyasha's voice came from in front and vibrated her chest as he said, "Hang in there, Kagome."

His voice was almost drowned out by the sound of Kaede barking orders, "Put her down over here Inuyasha, face down, that's it. Now get out, all of ye except Sango. Sango help me remove her shirt….Inuyasha I said get out!"

"My back is turned."

"Tis inappropriate!"

"Don't care."

Kagome weakly spoke up, "It's fine. Just look the other way Inuyasha."

"That's what I'm doing."

She heard Kaede sigh, but the older woman seemed to give that up and went back to ordering. "Fine Inuyasha, if ye are staying go over there and boil a pot of water, facing _that_ way. Good, now Sango help me get the shirt out from under her, you lift. Excellent, now pluck the leaves off this herb and grind them up." She kept after both Sango and Inuyasha, having them prepare salves and poultices for Kagome's cuts while she carefully cleaned them with warm water.

Kagome flinched and whimpered as her cuts were cleaned, and though she was sure they were trying to be gentle it felt like they were being rough, scouring out the open gashes in her flesh almost as if with sand paper. She couldn't help but weakly flail around, not really having the energy for anything else, and Sango helped hold her still. Every part of the healing process hurt, the cleaning was agony, stitching the deeper cuts made Kagome voice loud protests and jerk around because it hurt so badly, and the poultices they put on after that burned and stung. Really the only thing she was okay with were the bandages which were wrapped around her and turned her upper body into a mummy. Once she was swaddled, she was then forced to drink a noxious anti-poison tea, which made her stomach hurt and tasted positively foul. She nearly threw it up to start with.

Finally, once everything had been done to her, she was allowed to rest. She practically passed out. When she next woke she did feel a bit better, at least her back did, but the poison was still making her feel completely sick. She managed to crack her eyes open and look around a bit in her limited position, lying on her front as she was, and all she could see was red.

She quickly realized her head was cradled in Inuyasha's lap, and when she shifted and rolled a little onto her side she felt his hand come down on her hair and lightly stroke before gently pushing her shoulder back down to force her back to her front. She grumbled something incomprehensible, still more than half-asleep.

"Yeah, I know it's uncomfortable, but you can't lay any other way. You'll pull the stitches."

His hands very carefully slid under her head and helped move it so her neck was more comfortable and less likely to get a crick.

"Thanks," she sighed, and passed out once again.

It took several days before she could sit up again, and during that time Inuyasha pretty much was constantly taking the place of her pillow, except for whenever Kaede changed her bandages.

Her scratches healed up quickly enough, going from deep raw wounds to shallower wounds covered in thick scabs, which she kept cracking accidentally. They didn't pose much of a problem though, it was mostly the deeper stab wound that gave her problems. The poison didn't leave her system, and she had a terrible fever for several days, going from being freezing cold and shivering her butt off to insanely hot and sweating like she was being baked alive. Inuyasha stayed by her side and assisted Kaede in alternating between wrapping her in blankets and laying cool rags on her face. He hadn't ever been quite this hands on before, but perhaps he was feeling guilty for having been caused Kagome pain, and probably was regretting his bad attitude for the past month. Everyone kind of felt sorry for him actually, but not too much, because he really _had_ been an ass. Mostly they were all just glad he had snapped out of his weird mood.

Once Kagome's fever broke, she seemed to get a lot better, though she was incredibly weak. However, she continued to experience deep, shooting pains in her back, from that one spot, and a flash of agony would burn through her veins, almost as if it was sending a pulse of poison through her system once again. However the pain would subside after only a minute or two, and so she didn't bother to tell anyone about it, not wanting to worry them.

Only Kaede knew that it wasn't healing like the rest of her wounds, because she was the one who helped her bandage them. Kagome could see her getting more and more concerned as the days passed and it continued to ooze, the poison apparently turning black since black sludge would occasionally ooze out of the wound.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hello Again!

Wow! you guys came through and I already got 4 reviews! Super happy! So, I decided to post this a little ahead of schedule, because I was so excited. That tends to happen when I get reviews...hint hint.

So, hope you guys like the new chapter. Poor Kagome got all beat up again. This is gonna be the start of the big plot, her getting poisoned snowballs into a big upcoming deal, so there's lots to look forward to! And now Inuyasha is finally over his funk. Yay! I bet everyone's happy about that.

See you all in the next chapter my lovely readers.


	4. Chapter 4

The time came and went when she should have returned home, and once again she knew she was worrying her family. It had been several weeks now, and she knew she had to return. If only there was cell phone reception in the feudal era…it would make things so much easier. So, as soon as she was able, she set off for the well, Inuyasha tagging along after her and pestering her the whole way.

"Kagome! You can't go back, you aren't well enough yet!"

"I'm fine Inuyasha, I can make it down the stupid well."

"Sure but you can't get back up on the other side."

She paused, thinking that was probably true. "Eh…well, maybe not. But I have to go! My family is going to be worried and I can't just let them think I might be dead or something!"

Eventually, at the lip of the stone structure under current discussion, Inuyasha relented somewhat. "Fine! But I'm coming with you."

"Okay. Thanks Inuyasha."

And down they went, Inuyasha even going first so he could catch her on the other side. He had been awfully clingy lately, not that Kagome minded all that much. After all, it was a nice change from having him completely ignore her.

Once on the other side, she drifted down in that weird slow-motion fall that happened, and Inuyasha gathered into his arms, which was completely unnecessary really, since the landing was always soft. Kagome normally would have protested, except she was much too enthusiastic to be held by him. She felt starved for it since he had been avoiding her for nearly a solid month.

The only problem was….given the way he avoided touching her back, and the fact that he caught her face to face, she abruptly found herself in an awkward situation.

Really, unless she wanted to slide down his body and have his arms rub over her still raw back, the only option she was left with was to cling to him in the same manner that she did when she rode on his back. The problem there being that she absolutely refused to wrap her legs around him the way she normally would, since that would be highly inappropriate. Inuyasha however either was utterly oblivious to that sort of thing, or simply didn't care, because he didn't hesitate to scoop her up and gather her to him as she drifted down, and his hands settled on her legs the way they normally would if she was riding his back. Only she wasn't riding his back, she was riding his front, and his hands were much higher up on her legs to hold her weight. In fact his hands were very nearly on her ass, and she took exception to the position she found herself in now.

Sure she had wanted more contact with him, but this was way too much….Especially when he pulled her snug to him in preparation of his leap up to the top of the well.

She started her protest, "Inuyasha! Put me down!" but he was already airborne, and utterly ignored her.

She was forced to grab onto his neck and bury her face into his chest as he leaped up to the top of the well in one powerful bound, otherwise she would have fallen off or knocked him off balance and they would have crashed into the side of the well. In that brief moment of motion, she got to feel the front of his body in a way she never had before, his muscles tensed and in motion as he exerted himself.

The very second he touched down at the lip and hopped over onto solid ground Kagome was squirming free, so eager that she very nearly made him drop her. "Down! P-put me down Inuyasha!" She sputtered, not at all comfortable with the intimate position he was holding her in.

"What the…?! Kagome? What are you doing? Okay, okay! Jeez!" He set her down abruptly, trying his best not to let her squirm free and drop to the ground. Once she was steady on her feet he crossed his arms and scowled down at her. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Did you have to hold me like that?!"

"Like what?"

"Your hands were nearly on my behind!" She said rather loudly, her embarrassment and the discomfort she had felt turning into anger.

"Well how else was I supposed to hold you? I didn't want to hurt your back!" He yelled back, not sure why she was yelling at him when he had just been trying to help.

"But…but…I don't…! Just forget it!" She stammered and huffed and shouted all at once, which was certainly impressive, but failed to impress Inuyasha who was somewhat ticked off himself now.

He just hmphed, making his irritable tsk sound, and said, "Teh, whatever."

Kagome whirled around, her face cherry red and her heart pounding a million miles a minute in her chest. She didn't know if she wanted to yell at him some more for being so inappropriate, or cry from embarrassment and the knowledge that he apparently wasn't attracted to her in the least. That was the only explanation she could think of to explain why he had been so unaffected by holding her like that. Whether he simply didn't know, or whether he knew but didn't care about the sexual nature of that position, it didn't matter. Either way, if he had been at all interested in her as a woman he wouldn't have been able to do it and not have some sort of reaction. And the fact that she had reacted so strongly only made her humiliation worse.

She stalked up to her house, taking a few deep breaths to help calm down a little before entering. She pasted a smile on her face and walked into the house. Her mom immediately swung around, and at her loud cry of "Kagome! You're home!" Gramps and Sota came running in to greet her.

"What took you so long? You were gone for almost three weeks this time!"

"Yes Kagome, you are gone for longer and longer, it's quite worrisome."

"Are you okay?"

"Please don't stay over there for so long without at least stopping by to let us know you're okay dear."

At the influx of expected questions and exclamations Kagome grimaced and did her best to sooth everyone. Thankfully it was at that moment that Inuyasha strolled through the door, his ears still slightly whopperjawed with irritation, and everyone's attention shifted to him.

"Oh! Inuyasha you're here as well!"

"How wonderful! Come in!"

"Yay! Inuyasha's here!"

His ears pinned back at the sudden amount of excited speech directed at him. The two of them were whisked into the kitchen and food was prepared. They were sat down and forced to eat, though it certainly didn't take much convincing to get Inuyasha to dig in. Kagome on the other hand was a bit overwhelmed and would have preferred disappearing into the bathroom and taking a nice long bath where she could soak her scabs and maybe hopefully get rid of some of them. But it was good to catch up with her family and she found herself laughing at her little brother and Inuyasha's antics as Sota asked his idol to tell him all about the exciting battles and adventures that had happened while they were off adventuring.

It was a nice distraction from the intense swirl of emotions that had been choking her just a few minutes ago, all the embarrassment, frustration, and disappointment from that awkward moment washing away in the light of her family.

In fact, she was so distracted that when an intense itch popped up on her back, the healing wounds annoying, she reached back and gave it a good scratch. She had been avoiding doing exactly that, but with her absentmindedness, she found herself doing the thing she had been trying not to do, and she immediately winced as her vigorous scratching made her scabbed over back spark with pain. She felt a few scabs break and crack under her fingernails and she immediately withdrew her hand, not wanting to do any more damage. Many of the shallow cuts had already mostly healed completely, but the deeper cuts were still rather tender and had superficial scabs covering them. The ones with stitches still in them especially itched.

Inuyasha's nose twitched and his head whipped around as he caught the scent of Kagome's blood. She saw his reaction and when his mouth opened to say something, probably about her hurting herself, she scowled at him fiercely and whispered, "Don't make me say 'it' …."

His eyes widened and then narrowed in irritation as a very short soft growl came from his chest and he turned back to Sota with a huffed, "Feh." That was his other grumpy sound that he made on occasion.

This interaction was noted by her mother and brother, but not her grandfather since he was too busy enjoying his meal. Her mother wisely said nothing, and when Sota started to ask what that was about, their mother said, "Sota would you like some more meat?"

The offer successfully distracted him, and once he had procured his second helping he was back on track asking Inuyasha about the adventurous feudal era.

The dinner continued pleasantly enough for a while, though one of Inuyasha's ears was always turned back towards Kagome, only half his attention on the conversation with her little brother. When she stretched forwards to get another serving of rice, her already weakened scabs cracked even more, and she winced as she felt her entire back crackle and pop at the move she should have not made. Being home had almost made her forget all the care she had been taking lately on how she moved as she slipped back into normality, which was a terrible oversight because it was resulting in her back being very unhappy with her.

She tensed, freezing in her position, despite her knee-jerk instinct to flinch back from the stretch. Once again Inuyasha's head turned towards her and he pinned her with a beady eyed look, as she very slowly eased back, trying to prevent any more stupid damage to her very sad skin. Her whole back was sore now, and she was looking forwards to that bath even more.

Thankfully the meal ended soon after that, and she got to her feet as quickly as she could, offering to help with the dishes. Her mother shooed her off to get some rest or take a bath, and Kagome gratefully accepted, retreating back into her room with Inuyasha doggedly right on her heels.

"You reopened your wounds didn't you?" He asked, not really being as quiet as she would like.

"Shhh! I don't want them to know!" She hissed at him, giving him the evil eye.

"Why?"

"Because it would worry them unnecessarily." She grumbled, irritated.

He shot her a look, his golden eyes sharp as if he had realized something new about her, but she ignored it and grabbed a fresh change of clothes.

"Is that something you do for us too?" He eventually asked, more quietly this time thankfully.

She gave him a look over her shoulder as she grabbed her pajamas out of her dresser drawer. She could feel her face twisting into a sour expression. "Sometimes, but not often. It's tough to trick you and your nose you know." She ignored the fact that she had been doing just that about the stab wound in her back for a little while now, and hoped Inuyasha wouldn't somehow find out about it so he could remind her of this conversation.

His eyes narrowed and it didn't look like he entirely believed her.

She turned on her heel and headed into the bathroom, intent on taking a bath and hopefully easing the itching and the pain in the warm water. However, as she turned to close the door, she was met with some resistance and glowered at Inuyasha who was standing in the doorway.

"Get out! I'm going to take a bath." She said, probably sharper than she could have, but she was in pain, itching, and was aggravated and stressed.

His eyebrows furrowed in irritation and he gave her a good stubborn glare. "You can't change your bandages yourself!"

She flinched, hoping none of her family heard that. "Inuyasha! Shhhh! I already told you I don't want them to know! What's wrong with you?!"

His eyes narrowed. "Then you'd better let me in, cause I ain't going anywhere, and they're gonna hear a lot more about it if you make me argue with you here in the hall."

Kagome growled, and reached forwards to grab a handful of his red fire rate robe and jerked him into the bathroom with her, snapping the door closed and locking it. She turned and put her hands on her hips, ignoring the aching in her back. "You're so damn stubborn!"

He shrugged, looking utterly unapologetic and still slightly miffed, though pleased with himself now too. "And you're impossible to care for."

Kagome was shocked into laughing. "That's the kettle calling the pot black!"

He cocked his head to the side and scrunched his eyes in confusion. "Huh?"

Kagome snorted and walked past him. "It's just a saying. It means that you're more impossible to take care of than I am."

They were in the front room of the bathroom, in which was a little closet to put clothes. The sink and mirror were also in this part of the room, right in front of the dividing door that hid the actual bath and toilet part of the bathroom. "Okay Inuyasha, you can stay out here, I'm going to take a bath behind that door, and you are not allowed to come in."

He just sat on the floor, taking Tessaiga off his hip and putting it on-end between his crossed legs, tilting it against his chest and holding it in his typical sleeping pose. Kagome snorted and went into the other room, disrobing and filling the tub while keeping a wary eye towards the door. Really, she wasn't that worried about him peeking. He had seen it all accidentally before at various hot springs, though he probably hadn't seen much before she had sent him flying to the ground with a command. And he had never intended to, probably not really interested in seeing her nude since he didn't seem very interested in her in general. That thought made her droop once again, and she heaved a sad sigh, wishing for the gazillionth time that he felt even an ounce of what she felt for him. But he only had eyes for Kikyo.

She wiped a few tears away and poured some healing salts into the water, even floating some of the healing herbs from her pack in the water. Once it was full she shut off the tap and stepped into the hot water, very slowly lowering herself into the steam.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow….." She hissed as the salts and herbs stung her wounds, but after a moment the stinging eased and she relaxed as the pain started easing away.

"You okay in there?" Inuyasha asked through the door, probably having heard her 'ows'.

"Just fine. Stay out there!" She called back, and he just responded with his typical 'Feh.'

She settled in for a good long soak, not noticing how the water turned pink with her blood. After a moment she began to feel a tingle in her back, at that one spot that refused to heal like the rest, and she winced expecting it to start burning. It was slow this time, getting more and more painful, until a sudden zap had her clenching her teeth and gripping the edges of the tub. A groan slipped out of her, but it was muffled and so Inuyasha didn't immediately bust the door down. He just tapped on it and once more asked if she was okay.

"Yep." She croaked, the pain not quite easing yet.

There was a pause on the other side of the door and then it opened, Inuyasha obviously not convinced.

Kagome grabbed the towel she had left next to the tub for this very occasion, and swiftly covered herself up from thigh to armpit, doing her best to glare at him. The glare was somewhat ruined though when she grunted as a second spasm shuddered through her back from the sharp movement. Inuyasha hurried to her side, saying, "See! I knew you weren't fine. What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Just…urg…little bit of pain. It'll pass in a second." She gasped, staying still and waiting for it to stop.

Eventually it did ease and she relaxed back into the water, which was now really gross looking with streaks of black running through it. She grimaced and pulled the plug while keeping her back turned away from him, intending to draw another bath.

"What the hell is that?" Inuyasha asked, his nose curling in disgust.

Kagome sighed. "It's…it's nothing. Don't worry about it."

Inuyasha shot her a sharp look. "Kagome, don't lie to me. I'm not someone you can keep things from. Just spit it out, why is the water black?"

She flinched looking away. "It's just that stab wound on my back. It still oozes black sometimes."

His eyes flew wide open. "What?! That's not good! What did Kaede say about it?!"

"Uh…not much. But she didn't seem very happy about it either."

"Not much huh? Well what _did_ she say about it then?" Inuyasha pressed, his ears pointing as forward as they could go, showing his intent and expectations for an answer.

"Just that she needed to do some research. That's all." Kagome groaned, not feeling like getting into it at this very moment.

"Well I don't like it."

"Neither do I." Kagome huffed, a bit miffed.

She pulled another bath and settled back in, keeping the towel over her. "Um…do you mind?" She asked, wanting him to leave.

All he did was turn around and put his back to her.

"Inuyasha!"

"Not moving. If you pass out or something I need to be here."

Kagome groaned. "You've become paranoid, Inuyasha! Really, I'm fine!"

"Yeah, you keep saying that Kagome. And that's why I don't believe you, cause you've been lying." Inuyasha growled, his ears pointing back at her.

She just sighed, slumping in the water and trying not to feel sorry for herself. "Fine, whatever."

After a while she began to feel bad, because Inuyasha was obviously upset that she'd been hiding this from him. "Look…I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just…I didn't want to worry anyone when I didn't even know what was up with it myself."

"Don't keep things like this to yourself Kagome. I can't protect you if you don't tell me something's wrong."

"But there's nothing you could do for this!" She protested.

"You don't know that. I may have been able to help with whatever "research" the old hag has been doing on it."

"I-I guess."

After some time Inuyasha spoke up again. "As soon as you're done here, we're going back to my world and figuring out what's wrong with your back."

"Okay." She sighed, actually relieved by his confidence.

And so, she finished her bath a bit awkwardly, and then toweled off and changed, but only after she draped another towel over Inuyasha's head to make sure he wasn't peeking. He growled but let her and didn't move. Once she was decent, they both made their way back out into the other room.

"Don't you need to rebandage that?" Inuyasha pointed out.

"Yeah…I guess." She groaned, trudging over to the counter to retrieve the medkit she kept there.

She grabbed the antiseptic, antibiotic ointment, and a fresh roll of bandages and turned her back to the mirror, hiking her shirt up under her armpits, keeping her breasts covered. She did her best to apply the medicine to her back while twisting to look at it in the mirror, while at the same time keeping her shirt tucked under her arms. Inuyasha stood back and watched, arms crossed and waiting for her to give up and just ask him for help.

"You're just making it bleed more." He eventually pointed out. And it was true, the twisting wasn't good for her scabs which were all soft now.

She huffed and wordlessly handed the supplies over to Inuyasha, tucking her arms across her chest and holding the shirt in place over her breasts. Thankfully it was a rather large baggy shirt that she liked to sleep in, so he was able to hike it all the way up in the back and get to her wounds. He hissed when he saw the stab wound up close and personal.

"This is nasty as shit Kagome, we really need to figure out what the hell is wrong with it." He muttered as he applied ointment to it.

"Yeah. I know." She sighed. "Thanks Inuyasha, I'm glad that you know now. It actually makes me feel better knowing that you're going to be searching for an answer too. I … I was kind of scared, and felt all alone, even though Kaede knew."

She didn't see the blush that dusted his cheeks pink or the way his ears went bashfully sideways.

"Yeah, well…ya should have told me sooner." He grumbled.

After he had applied ointment to most of the cracked scabs, he said, "Kaede said these stitches were about ready to come out. You want me to go ahead and do it now while they're all soft and wet?"

She tensed, not really looking forward to it, but figuring Inuyasha was right about now being a good time to get it over with. "Yeah…sure. Uh, I have some scissors in there…."

"Naw, don't need them." He mumbled already sliding one claw under a stitch.

He used the sharp tips of his claws to neatly slice through each loop and then, to Kagome's shock, he dipped in and his mouth brushed her skin. She jumped, nearly causing him to accidentally nip her skin instead of grabbing the threads.

"Watch it! I nearly bit you." He growled, his hands slapping onto her waist to hold her still.

"Inuyasha! What are you doing?! Just use a pair of tweezers!"

His head came up and he eyeballed the weird silver pointy thing Kagome was holding up, and then he snorted derisively. "Yeah. Like hell. There's no way I'm using that weird looking thing."

"It's really easy! See you just squeeze them like this and the tips come together, then you can use them almost like a tiny pair of chopsticks." She demonstrated using them on a piece of hair that was stuck to her finger.

He watched her, an eyebrow cocked and his eyes cynical but mildly interested. "Well, for something else maybe. But I'm still not using them on you."

Before she could protest any more his head was dipping back down behind her and she felt this hot breath puff against her back. "Wait! Inuyasha!" She yelped, twitching away from him.

He just growled, the teeth between his long dog canines grabbing onto one of the threads. "Shtay shtill Kuhgome!" He barked between his teeth, the words slightly muffled and even more growly since his jaws were tightly clenched as he clamped down on the thread and gently tugged it free. He spat it on the ground and went back in for the next one.

She realized that this was a lost battle and just forced herself to stay put, not even wincing at the slightly painful tug when he pulled the threads free. Really, he was being amazingly gentle, which she had no idea how he was accomplishing when he was using his _teeth_ for such a delicate task. There was absolutely no way he could see what he was doing, and that was only confirmed as she consistently felt the light tapping of his lips nuzzling against her skin ever so slightly for a brief second as he found each thread. Then she'd feel his teeth very gently touching her as he carefully grabbed onto the threads, sometimes having to nip around until he got it. But even though she could feel his teeth and the tips of his sharp fangs ever so lightly brushing against her, he never hurt her with them, never even scratched her with the sharp pointy tip of one. Of course he probably would have if she wasn't so still.

By this point she was utterly frozen, her eyes shut tight and her muscles tense and she forced herself to stay still, not that she was even sure she could have moved if she wanted to. The only thing she really had to guard against were the shivers that wanted to travel down her spine at the soft touches of his mouth and teeth against her, the sensation almost ticklish, but also strangely pleasant. It felt good, even despite the little zings of unpleasantness whenever he tugged a stitch free. And she had to force herself to try and not get too involved with the feelings making her feel all warm and fuzzy.

She knew he was just doing it this way because it was what came most naturally to him. If it were any other circumstance, Kagome would have been greatly amused by the doglike behavior, his delicate chewing and pulling out the stitches with his teeth exactly the way she had seen dogs remove thorns and the like from their paws. It was still funny, but at the moment she wasn't feeling particularly amused. She was too busy trying to control her heartrate and breathing.

It seemed to take forever, and by the end of it her stomach was a tense mass of knots and nonsense. When he finally spat the last stitch on the ground and released her from his rather firm grip she sighed, more relieved than she ever would have thought. She wondered now if maybe hoping for more contact with Inuyasha had been very stupid on her part, because as painful as it had been to have him ignore her, this constant attention and touchy feely side of him was driving her up the wall. If he didn't feel the same sorts of feelings for her then she really needed him to back off just a little, because she was having a hard time convincing her heart that he was just being extra friendly out of concern and guilt. She logically knew that's what was causing all this, but it was hard to remember sometimes, and that only made reality harsher when it slapped her across her hopeful face.

She was about to hastily yank down her shirt, but Inuyasha grabbed it and said, "I still have to put bandages on! Geez Kagome, what's the rush?"

She groaned and let him lift it back up. He added some ointment to the areas where he had just pulled out the stitches and then taped bandages to her back where she still needed them, which was vastly less than when she'd first got them. She couldn't help but laugh when he kept getting the tape stuck to his fingers and waved his hands around, growling and snarling in irritation as his ears pinned flat to his head. A few he got really stuck and ended up gnawing at with his teeth to get off, looking almost like he might bite his own finger off with his vigorous chewing.

At one point, she even had to grab one of his hands and gently detached the tape from his skin, because he wasn't making any headway. He let her, turning his head away and sulking a little, but not fussing all that much about her assistance. She took the opportunity to admire his strangely graceful hands as she spent the time to unwrap and destick the tape. He could have probably just used one of his insanely sharp claws to cut the tape and peel it off, but apparently he had been consternated enough by the odd material that the thought hadn't occurred to him. She was secretly grateful, because it meant she had the perfect excuse to hold his hand and take an up close and personal look at it.

She was always amazed by his long claws, the sharp nails so much longer and thicker than a human's, and she found them rather attractive really. Sure, they were a little freaky, but she had gotten used to them a long time ago, and now just found them fascinating. She wished she could play with them, test their strength and see if she could gently bend them forwards like she could her own. She wondered just how sharp they were and had the strange urge to test the sharpness with her own fingers. But naturally she restrained herself, figuring that fiddling with his fingernails was utterly inappropriate.

His hand was calloused and rough, a warrior's hand. But even so, the fingers were long and graceful, which she had noticed before when he was threatening the enemy by tensing his fingers and displaying his claws. He had very handsome hands, and she wished she had more time to admire them, but all too soon she had peeled the sticky tape off him and he was pulling his hand back.

He finally finished taping up her back, with much cussing and more flinging of tape. Once he was done, she pulled her shirt down and turned around, eyeballing the mess he had left for her to clean up with a bit of exasperation. There were bits of stitches everywhere and so were pieces of tape and shreds of gauze. She just sighed and grabbed the broom, sweeping it up and not really being too worried about it not being perfect.

Once that was done she plodded to her bedroom, Inuyasha hot on her heels.

"Goodnight Kagome." Her mother said from the living room.

"Night Mom." She called back, purposefully ignoring the way her mother's eyes were zeroed in on the way Inuyasha was tailgating her all the way to her bedroom. Kagome was just glad her mother didn't make a fuss about Inuyasha entering her bedroom, and apparently sleeping in there with her, because that would have caused all sorts of problems. She didn't feel like dealing with one of his temper tantrums right now.

Sure enough he followed her right into her room and settled himself on the floor as she closed the door. He was already in his typical sleeping position when she turned back around, his back leaning against the wall and his sword cradled in his arms as he sat cross-legged. His golden eyes watched her as she headed to her bed, flopping down onto it with a groan of exhaustion. She didn't bother trying to get him to leave, because it would be an exercise in futility, and she was simply too tired to mess with it.

She immediately fell into a deep sleep. Her dreams were a weird mishmash of Inuyasha touching her in inappropriate and weird ways, and horrifying running sequences where she ran screaming from monsters that wanted to kill and eat her. There were even a few scenes of Kikyo sprinkled in there for good measure.

The next morning she woke to find Inuyasha's face right in front of her own, staring at her with intent eyes and his ears tilted forwards in attention. She yelped and scooted back on her bed, instantly awake. He jerked back as well, his face first startled and then flushing just a little before settling into a scowl.

"Inuyasha! What are you doing?!"

"Watching you sleep." He said, still scowling, his arms crossed and looking way from her.

"Why?!

"I was bored." He huffed, acting very defensive.

Kagome sat there, looking at him in consternation. She had no earthly idea why he had been watching her while she slept, or why he had been sitting right next to the bed. It creeped her out a little, but it also made her heart beat a bit faster. It was kind of sweet in an incredibly strange, disturbing way.

She decided to let it go, not wanting to really know anything about it. "Well, whatever." She grumbled, and got out of bed.

The rest of the day was similar, Inuyasha sticking close to her and her family sending them knowing looks. By that evening Kagome was ready to return to the other side of the well.

* * *

Author's Note:

Awwww, cute. A little fluff finally, I think Kagome deserves it.

Thank you to all you wonderful people who reviewed. As I've said before, the more reviews I get the faster I produce. :3 Cookies for everyone! Or cake...if you prefer.

And yes, I know the stitches removal was a little gross, but remember, he is a dog-demon, and that is how dogs remove splinters and stuff.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been at least a week since returning from Kagome's time, and they still hadn't figured out what was wrong with her back. It wasn't until late one evening, when a certain tiny demon they all knew came bouncing into Kaede's hut, that some light was shone onto the situation.

"Ow." Inuyasha said, in an ironically bored tone, and slapped his own cheek before holding his hand out flat to catch the flattened flea demon as he drifted down.

"Myoga!" Shippō said, bouncing over. "What brings you here?"

"Ah! Master Shippō. How good it is to see you. I came as soon as I heard about Kagome's condition."

"How'd you hear about that?" Kagome asked, coming forwards as well.

"I sent a message." Inuyasha muttered, sounding a little embarrassed.

"Indeed he did! And I rushed over as soon as I could. Being a flea demon, I have many connections that could help to determine the type of illness and what the remedy could be. If you would show me the wound?" He seemed a little too eager as Kagome turned around and lifted her shirt to show the black mark marring her back.

His excitement quickly turned to dismay as he took in the state of the wound. All the others shared similar expressions, no longer shocked since Inuyasha and Kagome had clued them all in on it, but still greatly disturbed by the appearance of it. Inuyasha ran through a very brief description of the battle as Myoga hopped over to Kagome's back to get a better look.

"Oh dear. That is worse than I imagined." Myoga said weakly. "You say this came from a monkey demon who had consumed the jewel shard around your neck?"

Kagome nodded and pulled out the retrieved necklace so he could see how big of a shard they were dealing with.

"I see. And the demon grew wings and a tail with some sort of stinger on the end?"

Once again Kagome and Inuyasha nodded.

"This is bad news indeed. Monkey demons are known for transformative powers and I've heard of how the more powerful they become the more deadly their transformations, but I've only ever heard of a few instances of the tail. It sounds like it transformed into a Manticore, one of the deadliest demons out there. The poison in their tails is lethal, though it takes a long time and causes much suffering. That you are still alive is amazing."

Everyone reacted badly to this information. Miroku got pale and very serious. Sango clenched her fists and looked like she might start crying, her eyes getting red. Shippō did start crying, big fat tears trailing down his cheeks as he sniffled. Kaede grew solemn and her eyes tightened. Inuyasha turn sheet white and his ears pinned flat to his head as a nearly inaudible whine sounded from his chest. Kagome also paled and looked like she might throw up.

"W-well, Inuyasha sucked out most of the poison right after it happened…so maybe that's why." She stuttered.

"Ah. That would explain it. Dog and wolf demons also tend to have healing properties in their saliva, so that probably helped as well."

"So what's the antidote?" Inuyasha interrupted the flea.

"Well, draw out as much of the leftover poison in her system as possible."

"I already did that…." The white eared half-demon growled, sounding frustrated.

"No, not exactly. You may have gotten the poison close to the surface and saved her life that way, but there is still plenty of poison in her system, otherwise this would have healed." Myoga corrected, gesturing at her back.

They all looked at the oozing black wound.

"So then what do we do?" Sango asked, sounding angry and sad.

"Well, I can assist in filtering out the poison from her blood, but that wound will just keep producing more. It won't heal. But Inuyasha can slow it down by using the healing properties in his saliva."

Everyone grimaced at this, and Sango said, "ew" very softly. Kagome on the other hand was gaping, grossed out and also highly embarrassed by the implication, her face flushing bright red. Inuyasha seemed unaffected, aside from a very slight pink in his cheeks.

"But how do we heal it!?" He barked at the flea.

"Well…Master Inuyasha, therein is the problem. There is no known antidote for a manticore's poison. A wound inflicted by a manticore will slowly fester and even after it seems to heal over it will leave a black mark and never truly heal, continuing to infect the blood."

"There has to be a way." Inuyasha growled, snarling right up close to the little demon perched on Kagome's back.

Myoga sweated and flinched back, about to hop away when clawed fingers grabbed him. "M-master Inuyasha! Please! I know of no cure! However, there is a demon who is immune. Perhaps that demon would be of more use."

"Immune?" Miroku asked, intrigued.

"Yes. She is an ancient demon of the dragon tribe. She is a healer and a witch, and has survived a manticore's attack. Or so the legends say. But no one knows how."

"Then we will go at once to find this demon. Where is she?" Inuyasha said, standing abruptly.

"She lives far to the south, in the mountains."

"Mountain climbing it is then." And the half-demon was off, gathering up the yellow pack Kagome carried with her and packing it.

Everyone else was left to somewhat hurriedly gather up their belongings and get ready to set off after the single minded white haired young man. They departed immediately, Myoga accompanying them. Kagome naturally rode on Inuyasha's back and the rest followed on Kilala, a fast pace being set for all of them. Myoga rode with Kagome and Inuyasha, occasionally giving directions and sitting on Kagome's neck, slowly sucking on her blood.

"If he's being rough just let me know and I'll smack him," Inuyasha said as he felt her flinch once again.

"No it's fine. He's just gotten so big that it hurts more." She said.

The engorged Myoga was nearly the size of Shippō now and was piggybacking on her much as she was on Inuyasha. "My apologies, but I have managed to filter out much of the poison." He said, wheezing a little.

"Thank you Myoga."

"My pleasure Miss Kagome." He burped and promptly fell off her, causing Kilala to have to swoop down and scoop him up in her claws.

Kagome was feeling lightheaded herself, weak from the loss of blood. Her arms around Inuyasha slipped a little as she slumped. In one swift move he pulled her around to his front, carrying her bridal style though being gentle with the wounds on her back. Most had healed, except for that big black spot, and he was careful to hold her in such a way that he didn't put any pressure on it. He continued to run, not losing a step, and she gasped, startled by the abrupt change in position.

After a brief tenseness she relaxed and let her head fall onto his chest as she closed her eyes. "Thank you Inuyasha…." She sighed, drifting off to sleep.

He nuzzled her hair for a split second, and continued running intent on getting as far as possible.

They made good headway, traveling at least thirty or forty miles by the time the sun set. They set up camp in some woods, and blessedly close to a hot spring. Kagome was still passed out, and so Sango took a bath by herself, which was uneventful up until the rest of the party by the campfire heard a shriek and Inuyasha looked up to notice Miroku had disappeared. He just shook he head and muttered, "Teh, the idiot."

Miroku came back with a huge red mark across his face and a sheepish expression. After Sango had finished she came back, still steaming mad, and Miroku left to take a bath, and also to probably escape the death glares the young woman was sending him.

It was shortly after he had returned that Kagome woke.

"Huh? It's night already?" She murmured, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah." Inuyasha grunted from his position a very short distance away.

"Hey Kagome! There's a hot spring!" Shippō chirped, super happy to be able to give the news to his mother figure, knowing how much she likes hot springs.

"Really?!" She perked up.

"It's this way. I'll show you." Inuyasha said, standing and heading off in that direction.

The others watched, somewhat bewildered as he disappeared with Kagome. They fully expected him to come right back, but when he didn't they all shared equally confused and surprised looks.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking a bath by myself Inuyasha." Kagome huffed, arguing with him at the edge of the hot spring.

"Oh yeah? Well what if you pass out like you did earlier today on my back?!"

"I wasn't on your back when I fell asleep!" Kagome reminded him.

"Well you would have passed out and fallen off if I hadn't switched to carrying you." He argued back.

It was a fair point.

"…maybe. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to pass out now. I feel fine!"

"I still don't trust you to tell me the truth about how you feel." Inuyasha snarled, crossing his arms and glaring down at her.

"What! Do you want me to tell you every time I'm in pain? Do you want me to call for you when I stub my toe in the middle of the night too?!" Kagome yelled, getting fed up.

"Yes!" He yelled right back, taking a step forwards and getting up in her face.

"Well that's rich! All of a sudden you're all concerned about me! If I had known this was all it would take for you to give a damn I would have nearly gotten myself killed sooner!" She spat, not really meaning to say anything of the like. She flinched when she realized what had come out of her mouth and what it suggested. She just hoped Inuyasha was too pissed to pick up on the subtle confession of her true feelings towards him.

His eyes flew wide open and he gaped at her. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" He sputtered in rage.

"…never mind. Just forget it." Kagome turned and made as if to walk back to the camp site.

Inuyasha grabbed her arm and spun her back around. "No! You're not walking away after saying something like that!"

He glared at her until she relented, knowing she wasn't going anywhere until she explained herself. She shook him off and crossed her arms, looking off to the side. "I didn't mean to say that." She said angrily, more angry at herself than at him now. "Sorry."

"Not good enough, Wench." He growled, still obviously waiting for an explanation.

She abruptly got mad at him again. Everything she had been holding in came tumbling out like verbal vomit. "Well what do you think it means? Huh?! You've been so distant ever since…ever since _she_ came back to life. And then she tries to kill you and I go and get my ribs broken and probably a concussion and shot with an arrow to save your fucking life! Do I get a thanks?! No! You give me the cold shoulder for a _month_ and don't even _talk_ to me. So yeah, I'm a little shocked that you've suddenly decided you give a damn about me now!"

She stood there panting, and he stared at her, his ears pinned back and to the sides a little, his eyes wide and shocked, and his mouth a little agape. "Kagome…I…."

She flushed bright red, embarrassed again, and finding the anger leaking from her once again now that she had gotten all that out.

It didn't help her mood in the slightest when her back decided to take this opportunity to seize up in agony. The suddenness of it had her gasping and staggering forwards a step, putting a hand to her back and closing her eyes. As she stumbled Inuyasha stepped forwards, grabbing her to help her stay upright.

She leaned her forehead against his chest and panted, waiting for the pain to pass.

"Is it that pain again?" Inuyasha rumbled.

"Yeah. It happens when I overexert myself." She wheezed, gritting her teeth.

"Then maybe you shouldn't yell at me." He teased, surprisingly flippant about the argument they had been having.

"W-wha?" She stammered, wincing as another spasm got her.

"Easy there…don't stress yourself." He murmured, helping her to lower herself to the ground.

After the pain had passed she sighed and wiped her sweaty bangs out of her face. She was met with a set of serious golden eyes. "I know I've been an ass. I'm sorry. There's just some…shit that I can't figure out right now and I took it out on you."

She blinked, shocked out of her mind by the honest statement. Inuyasha was so rarely honest about how he felt, or really anything personal about him. "I … uh … it's okay." She stuttered.

"No. It's not. But promise me you won't ever hurt yourself intentionally just to get my attention. I -"

Kagome turned bright red and felt like she had swallowed a hot coal, abruptly interrupting him. "I…I…Don't be stupid Inuyasha! What would make me do something like that?!"

"Before. When you said you would have gotten yourself killed if you'd known it would make me give a damn about you -"

She flushed even hotter, turning her head away and interrupting him yet again. "I was just … I didn't actually mean it that way. I wouldn't really get myself hurt on purpose. That's dumb."

"Would you shut up and let me finish?!" He growled. "I was _going_ to say that I _always_ gave a damn, Kagome. I thought you knew that!"

She stopped and stared…shocked once again.

"W-but…you…I…I mean you…."

He interrupted her this time. "Yeah. I was a dumbass. I didn't react well to your saving me, and I didn't appreciate it at the time. I still don't know what to think about the whole fucking thing honestly." He gave an exasperated sigh and scratched the back of his head, making his white hair all tangled and stick up a bit in the back. "But I do know that I'm sorry for hurting you."

"Thank you Inuyasha." Kagome whispered, feeling like she might start crying.

He smelled the salt and stared at her in surprise. "Why are you crying?! Did I say something wrong?"

"I'm not." She whispered, her throat so thick she couldn't speak any louder. "I'm just … I'm really surprised, Inuyasha. You're never this open."

He flushed and sputtered for a little bit before managing, "Stupid! I just…I figured you should know is all. Don't want you goin' and gettin' yourself hurt because of me."

Before things could get weird, or Kagome ended up accidentally confessing her undying love for the dumb half demon in front of her, she cleared her throat and pasted on a smile. "Well, I think I need to go ahead and take that bath."

He nodded and turned away, sitting cross-legged as he was wont to do.

Kagome sighed. "And there's no way to convince you to leave?"

He shook his head.

"How about if you sit behind this rather large rock next to the hot spring? That way you'll hear if anything goes wrong."

He eyeballed the smallish boulder perched right next to the hot spring and then finally stood and walked the few steps over there, plopping back down on his haunches and then settling cross-legged again. Kagome, feeling better now about him sitting behind a rock, retreated to the other side of the boulder and balanced on the tiny thin strip of soil between the rock and the pool to undress. She managed to get out of everything and put it on top of the boulder, before slipping and splashing down into the pool with a squeal. She popped up and yelled, "I'm fine! Stay behind that rock or I'll sit you!"

He had apparently been in the process of checking on her, because when she finally had cleared the water out of her eyes she saw him face down in the soil right next to the rock.

"Oops." She snickered, realizing she had said 'sit' when she had only meant to threaten, but it served him right for popping out from behind the rock at the first splash.

He grumbled, his head tilting up as much as he could and giving her an irritated golden glare from under his white bangs.

"Hey! Keep your eyes to yourself!" She yelped, ducking down as far as she could in the water and hoping the steam and the not perfectly clear water masked everything.

He snorted and closed his eyes after a second, his ears still pointing rather angrily towards her in the maximum forwards position.

"As soon as you can get up you'd better get back behind that rock!" She scolded and heard a grunt of confirmation.

As he finally peeled himself off the ground, his eyes closed, he settled himself back behind the rock and she very softly heard him mutter, "So damn bossy…."

She gasped, shocked and infuriated as usual and shouted "SIT!" There was a bang and a loud amount of muffled yelling from behind the rock.

This was per usual. She loved him, but he was so freaking annoying sometimes. She spent half the time love sick and the other half furious with him. They were both incredibly strong willed, and probably all the tension she felt around him didn't help her temper any. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe he did like her just a _little_ bit. It would help to explain why he was always so quick to anger as well. Based on what he had been saying, how he always gave a damn about her and all that, it really sounded like maybe he did like her…just a little at least. Of course everything he had said could apply to a friend, there wasn't anything specifically romantic about it, but the way he had said it was so intense that Kagome couldn't help but hope. Of course he had also admitted that he was utterly confused about the Kikyo thing, which meant even if he did like her, he still loved Kikyo. If that was true it was no wonder he was so cranky all the time.

Of course, it was most likely that he didn't like her as anything more than maybe a close friend, and he still loved Kikyo, so she really shouldn't get her hopes up with these sorts of thoughts.

Just as she was reminding herself of this, Inuyasha sprung up and his clawed hands landed on the rock, his shoulders and chest leaning forwards menacingly as he glared at her and growled loudly, "Stop doing that!"

"If you don't sit back down right now!" She yelled, covering up again in shock and embarrassment.

He disappeared from sight again as he was once again slammed to the ground. He shouted, "KAGOME!" Loud enough for her to hear even with his mouth in the dirt.

"Sorry! I didn't mean it that time! I was just surprised! Stop peeking and I'll stop saying it!" She yelled.

She heard muffled grumbling as a reply.

"Seriously! I'm sorry. But please stop poking around that rock. You're embarrassing me!"

"I'll never understand why women are so shy about that kind of stuff…." She heard him mutter a few minutes later as he apparently straitened himself.

Kagome was offended. It was as if the few brief peeks he had managed hadn't affected him in the slightest, the way the sight of a naked woman was supposed to affect a man. If anything he just sounded frustrated, and not in the way a guy normally would be in this sort of situation. She wondered wildly if maybe he was just asexual, and then started giggling at the thought.

Before she could censor herself the question popped out of her mouth. "Are you just asexual Inuyasha? Because sometimes I would swear you act like it."

She flushed ten shades of red as she realized what she had just said. Inuyasha sputtered from behind the rock, sounding absolutely shocked out of his wits. "W-what does that have to do with anything?! What the fuck are you talking about Kagome?!"

"Never mind! Forget I said anything!" She squeaked back, sinking down in the water and wishing she could hide.

"Oh no, you're not getting off that easy! Don't make me come back around this rock, cause I will!"

Exasperated with his pushiness she spat, "Fine! I was commenting on the fact that you're so fucking oblivious all the time Inuyasha! Not getting at all ruffled by me being naked, carrying me in completely inappropriate ways…I mean I know you don't think of me that way but still! To not even understand why I might not want you to see me naked is ridiculous! If you truly have no clue and don't have any reaction then go on ahead and come around from behind that rock! Geez!"

She was standing, with her arms crossed over her chest in aggravation, the water lapping around her hips and the steam making her form fuzzy as Inuyasha hesitantly stood and took the few steps around the rock. She glared at him, irritated, and frankly shocked that he had the audacity to actually do it. She made sure to keep her arms crossed across her chest, glancing down for a split second to make sure that she was mostly covered, even though she was well enough endowed that there was no way to cover the top and bottom curves, and holding them like this gave her some embarrassing cleavage, but at least the important middle parts were firmly kept out of sight. She could only hope that the water masked anything lower than her hips. Really she wasn't any more exposed than if she had been wearing a skimpy bikini, not to mention that the steam was so thick that his form was a little hazy from where she was standing which meant that she was also not clearly visible to Inuyasha, plus it was dark, but she still abruptly felt completely shy and wanted to sink back down into the water and order him back behind the rock. But she was too aggravated and didn't let herself do it, instead standing there and giving him a glare as he frowned at her.

His eyes met hers through the steam for a good few seconds and then they darted down, then back up, then down again, then back. They went back and forth a few times and then abruptly he turned red and his head whipped to the side, his ears laying back flat against his head, and she could swear she heard an incredibly soft whine come from him. He roughly scratched his cheek and then tsked and spat, "Teh, Whatever." And then he turned away and sat back down behind the boulder.

Kagome's mouth dropped open, shocked and amazed that she had actually gotten a reaction from him. Maybe he _was_ actually affected and had just been hiding it, or maybe he hadn't really realized what he was talking about or something, but at the very least he had looked thoroughly embarrassed just now. She had never seen him blush really, at least not so obviously to where she could clearly see it even from across a steamy hot spring in the middle of the dark of night. She was positively thrilled.

A grin spread from ear to ear and she sank back into the water happily, relaxing back into the heat and soaking all the stress away, the hot water feeling amazing on her wound. The minerals in the pool also felt soothing, and she stayed there for a good long while, until Inuyasha spoke from behind his rock. "Hey. You still alive over there?"

"Duh." She snorted, amused and relaxed, letting her eyes stay closed.

"Well what's taking so damn long?" He huffed, sounding cranky.

"The hot water feels good on my back. I'm soaking." She responded slightly grumpily.

"Oh. Well hurry up. I'm bored."

Kagome sighed, exasperated, but grudgingly stood, squeezing the water from her hair and slowly walking over to where she had left her clothes and a folded up towel from her pack. She stepped out, and said, "Close your eyes, I don't have enough room to towel off behind the rock."

She heard a grunt, and took that to mean yes. So she grabbed the towel and briskly rubbed herself dry, keeping an eye on the splash of white that indicated the back of Inuyasha's head. She quickly pulled on her clothes and then walked around in front of him, noting that his eyes were still closed even though she was standing right in front of him and she was sure he knew that. Maybe she had made a stronger impact on him than she had thought.

She stood there and looked down at him for a while before clearing her throat. "I'm done."

His eyes opened. "It's about time." He huffed, and then eyed her strangely.

"What…?" She muttered, looking down to see if she had some moss on her or something.

He cleared his throat. "Uh, well, I should probably … you know, help your back and all that shit now." He glanced off to the side, turning a little pink and his ears pointed off to the sides awkwardly.

It took her a second but then she remembered what Myoga had said and what Inuyasha must be referring to and she also flushed. "Oh. Right. Well, I guess we better get this over with, I'm not too keen about being spat on, so the sooner we can be done with it the better." Kagome muttered.

"I'm not planning on spitting on you, Kagome, if that's what you're worried about." Inuyasha grumbled as she turned around and sat in front of him.

"Well how else are you supposed to get your saliva on me?" She complained, as he pulled up her shirt in the back and she quickly grabbed the front to keep it over her breasts. It was a little bit of a tug of war, but eventually he got it high enough while she still was able to keep it over her chest.

"How the fuck do you think?"

"B-wha?!" she sputtered and then winced when she felt his breath once again on her skin, flinching when his hot tongue touched the edge of the hole in her back.

"Inuyasha! Come on!" She whined. "That's gotta be gross. I wouldn't want to put my mouth anywhere near that monstrosity."

"It's fine." He said, spitting a little from the awful taste. "I mean it tastes like shit, probably because of the poison, but it's not gross or anything."

"That doesn't make any sense. If it tastes bad then it's gross." She wrinkled her nose. "And I saw it in the mirror you know, I know good and well how it looks. It's nasty."

Inuyasha sighed and bent down to rasp his tongue over the wound again, making Kagome jump and flinch at the pain and sensation of his tongue touching her. He spat again before responding. "Like I said, it's fine. I'm used to licking wounds, I do it to myself when I can reach them."

She startled, not knowing this tidbit of knowledge. "Really? I've never seen you licking yourself before."

"I don't do it when anybody's looking, Stupid." He grumbled, bending down to lick her back again.

She winced, the sensation not exactly pleasant on the exceptionally painful wound. "Ow! Could you be a little more gentle?" She complained, arching away from him as he prodded his tongue at the semi-open hole.

"Pthtoo. No, not really. I'll try, but I've gotta get into the wound to heal it as much as possible, so it's gonna hurt."

She groaned, her body twitching without her say-so as he lapped at her some more, pushing at the opening rather insistently. She realized he was actually trying to get his tongue inside the stab wound. "Is that completely necessary?" She groaned.

"Fpthoo. Yeah, 'fraid so."

She sighed. After a little while he grumbled and a hand pushed on her shoulder, shoving her forwards. "What?" she asked as she was pushed over.

"Down. My neck's getting a cramp from bending so far."

"Oh. Sorry." She mumbled, letting him push her forward and tucking her knees up under her until she was a ball.

He tsked. "Teh, you might as well stretch out and get comfortable. This is gonna take some time."

She blushed and did as he suggested, stretching out on her stomach. He stretched out next to her and propped up his weight with an elbow driven into the ground by her side and his other palm planted by her other side. She closed her eyes and tried to not wince as he poked around her wound with his tongue. She did wince and yelped when he finally managed to reopen the wound and got his tongue inside. It hurt like the dickens. She tensed and squeezed her eyes shut as he lapped at her thoroughly and then relaxed as he withdrew to thoroughly lave the outside again. Really, despite the pain it was starting to feel a little better.

Eventually he pulled away and sighed, spitting again, and then said, "Well, that's as good as it's gonna get for now. I'll have to do it again tomorrow though."

Kagome groaned, unhappy about the prospect. It hurt, and aside from that it felt way to intimate to her, and she didn't know if she could sit through another one of these things.

"Sorry." He grumbled, sounding almost a little hurt.

Her head popped up and she looked over, noting that yes, he did look a little sullen and his ears were all cockeyed, one up and one down. She blinked, surprised that he was being so sensitive about it. "Uh…it's not that I don't appreciate it Inuyasha, it just hurts so I'm not looking forward to the pain. That's all."

 _Well, and it's so awkward and uncomfortable and makes me want things I can't have_ , she added in her own head.

His ears perked up and he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She smiled reassuringly at him, and was surprised when he flushed, and then he abruptly stood. "Well…whatever. We should be getting back to the others."

She was left lying there on the ground, blinking after him as he walked away, and then she scrambled to her feet, brushing dirt off her stomach and thighs as she followed him.

As soon as they rounded the last bush, they were met by the questioning eyes of the others, minus Shippō who was sound asleep.

"Sooo….what took so long?" Miroku asked, his eyes sliding back and forth between Inuyasha and Kagome.

Inuyasha just grunted, going to his spot he had already picked out and sitting down in his sleeping position, cradling Tessaiga.

Kagome just flushed and rolled out her sleeping bag, close, but not too close to Inuyasha. She noted the way his ears both swiveled to point in her direction, even though his eyes were closed already as if asleep.

"Uh…well, I took a bath…and uh…yeah, that's about it." She said, pasting a perky smile to her face.

"Right." Sango said, giving her the same disbelieving look that Miroku was.

Kagome just rolled over and closed her eyes, saying, "Night guys. I'm going to sleep, I'm exhausted."

"Yeah…I'll bet she's tired after-"

Miroku's words were cut off with the sound of a smack.

* * *

Author's Note:

Merry Christmas! And for everyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas, Happy Holidays!

I wanted to get the chapter out on Christmas day as a present to everyone who has read, followed, faved, and especially for those of you who have taken the time to review. Shout out to all you lovely people!

The plot thickens! We finally have a possible cure, what will it be?

As a special Holiday bonus: If anyone can guess it right in a review, I'll post the next chapter that very same day (even if it's tomorrow and I end up posting twice in one day.) Get your think caps on people! I'm looking forward to hearing some hypotheses. :3


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Important!**

Okay, so I'm putting this here to warn you all that this chapter has some **MATURE** and **EXPLICIT** situations, as in lemon/lime type things. If explicit stuff bothers you...then there will be parts you'll wanna sort of skim, or skip entirely. So you have been warned!

* * *

It took them another two weeks to get to the demoness that Myoga had suggested they go see, and the whole way there Myoga sucked Kagome's blood, leaving her exhausted, and then at night Inuyasha would pull her aside and poke and prod at her wound with his tongue while she twitched and grumbled. It was not a fun trip for Kagome.

It didn't help that Inuyasha always got all awkward after licking her, and eventually Kagome finally managed to get Myoga alone and questioned him on it.

"Oh. Well, that's because licking another's wounds is usually reserved for either very close family, or mates. Usually just the later, since it's such an intimate act. So I'd suspect Master Inuyasha gets a little shy for that reason."

Kagome slowly flushed at the implication. "So…he's been forcing himself to do this…super intimate thing, this whole time? How awful!" She cried, dismayed at the prospect.

Myoga waved his tiny little flea arms around in distress. "No! No, no, no! Miss Kagome, this is one of those things that a demon would never be able to do unless they were completely comfortable with the other person!"

"Really? So that means he must really consider me a friend then, to be that comfortable around me." Kagome said, sniffing a little and wiping the few tears that had fallen when she thought she had trespassed upon Inuyasha's feelings.

"Well…it's a bit more than that actually…." Myoga muttered.

"Huh?"

"Nothing!" He hurried to jump away before she could catch him and press him for more answers, ones that he knew would get him killed if Inuyasha found out.

Kagome was left to wonder what he had meant as she made her way back to the campsite. It was still early, but they had stopped here for the night because Myoga had advised that they not risk approaching the demoness during the night. So they would finally get there tomorrow.

Kagome sat and watched Inuyasha out of the corner of her eye as he parked himself in a tree, wondering when he would decide to pull her away and treat her wound tonight. It had been getting better and better, in fact it was almost healed over now, but the fresh skin was still marred by a big black spot. Really, Inuyasha had told her it looked sort of like a spade, or an upside down heart with radiating black lines. It must have been the shape of the stinger that made such an unusual mark.

It still sent flashes of pain through her, though less now, and she knew they had managed to slow it down, but that there wasn't much else they could do without the assistance of this demon they were planning to see tomorrow. She felt her gut clench at the thought, fear striking through her at the thought that maybe they would be turned away. She would be doomed then, Myoga had made that clear. She would maybe have a year at most before the poison would take her over, and by that point the flashes of pain would be constant and she would welcome death. The thought was terrifying, and it left her cold and shivering, wanting to cry as she miserably looked into the fire, not feeling any of its warmth.

She jumped when suddenly heat suffused her back as a strong body sat behind her, not quite touching. She glanced down and back a little, and noted Inuyasha's knees, suggesting he was crouched on his haunches behind her.

She got up and was going to walk off into the woods, expecting him to lead her to a secluded spot for the tongue treatment. She was surprised when her hand was caught, pausing her.

"Where are you going?" Inuyasha's golden eyes peered curiously up into hers.

"Uh…well, you know, to…uh…." Kagome stuttered, looking around.

"The others are asleep, over there." Inuyasha nodded, and sure enough, on the far side of the fire the others were fast asleep, and facing away from the two.

"Oh." She whispered, surprised. She hadn't known she had been sitting there sulking for so long.

"We can do it here. It'll be more comfortable for you with your sleeping bag and all."

She nodded and sat back down on the slightly cushy surface, rolling over and laying down on her stomach without any prompting. This position had the added benefit that she didn't have to worry about holding her shirt over her breasts, since they were pressed to the ground. She shivered as she felt him pull up her shirt, and then twitched when she felt his tongue stroke over her much less sore skin. It was almost pleasant now, and she wasn't sure if that was better or worse. Sure it didn't really hurt, and that was nice, but on the other hand it also made things more awkward for Kagome, because it just made it feel more intimate and even more inappropriate. She couldn't help the flush that crawled up over her face, turning her cheeks bright pink, and she hid the reaction in her small travel pillow as he continued to gently lick the area.

She couldn't help but wonder what it might feel like for him to do that for other reasons besides healing a wound, and that thought certainly didn't help the heat in her cheeks. She knew it was a stupid wish, but the thoughts were very persistent, and she couldn't really help it, or the way her heart sped up and her breathing got just a smidge faster. She did her best to control her breathing, but it was about the only thing she could control. What Myoga had told her only made everything worse, the word 'mate' ping-ponging around in her skull with an incessantness that aggravated her.

They were oblivious to the subtle glances that were being sent their way, or the surprised expressions on the quickly masked faces of their companions. Normally Inuyasha would have heard the changes in their breathing that indicated they had woken up, but his ears were pricked and pointed all the way towards Kagome, all his attention on her breathing and the way her heart was pounding loud enough for him to hear.

It went much faster this time since the wound was almost healed, and Kagome almost caught herself sighing regretfully as Inuyasha tugged down her shirt again. He settled back over in his spot for the night, a little way away from where Kagome was still lying, and he turned his head away, the typical uncomfortable expression on his face that she had grown to expect after this.

"Sorry." Kagome muttered after a long moment.

Inuyasha's ears twitched in her direction, though his head stayed turned away. "Why?" He said back softly.

"For…you know, making you do this for me. Myoga told me it's generally reserved for…for…uh, mates and stuff like that." She mumbled, flushing a little.

His head whipped around and he glared. "He said what?!" He hissed.

Kagome flinched. "Uh…"

"I'm gonna kill him."

"Don't do that. I asked him to tell me, it's not his fault." She protested.

He huffed and grumbled threateningly under his breath.

"But anyways…yeah…sorry…." She mumbled, lying back down and rolling over, trying not to either combust from the heat of her face or start crying.

He heard him sigh. "…whatever…just…don't worry about that sort of thing Kagome." He mumbled very softly.

She wasn't really sure what to make of that, but it sounded like he was either saying he didn't mind doing that sort of thing with her, or else that he felt so platonically towards her that it didn't bother him. She would prefer the first option, but figured it was probably the second. Even so, she couldn't help the little bubble of happiness that rose up in her stomach, making a bunch of butterflies.

She had a hard time getting to sleep after that, and so the next morning she was extra cranky and sleepy, which made Inuyasha grip her thighs more firmly than usual to make sure she stayed on his back. They traveled at top speed, and soon they were approaching the mountain that contained the demoness's lair. It took them the first part of the day to hike up to it, but soon enough they were standing in front of the large gaping mouth of a cave.

"This is it!" Myoga announced, hopping off Inuyasha and making as if to disappear.

The half-demon grabbed him out of the air and said, "No, you ain't running off on us this time."

It didn't bode well that he had even tried, and everyone proceeded with caution. It was a good thing they did, because they were greeted with a blast of flame.

"Who dares encroach upon my lair without permission!?" A huge voice roared, making them all take a step back at the sheer ferocity of the sound.

"Well? Do you know her?" Inuyasha asked Myoga, and he vigorously shook his head.

To all of their surprise Kilala stepped forward, in her small form, and trilled into the cave in the adorable way she had as a kitten.

"Kilala?! Is that you?" The voice said, and then torches lit all along the walls.

They all waited as huge footsteps sounded down the hall, but those footsteps grew smaller and smaller, and they were all astounded when a tiny, old bent-over woman came tottering around the bend of the cave hall.

"Ah! It is you! How lovely to see you my dear! Come and give Granny a kiss." She held her arms out wide and Kilala trotted over, hopping up into the offered embrace and licking the pretty face of the wizened old woman. She was still quite beautiful despite her age, and her deep red eyes twinkled happily.

"You must be Kilala's friends! Come in! I'll brew us some tea." She turned and walked back down the hall, Kilala riding on her shoulder.

They all shared looks of shock and amazement, and then hesitantly followed the old demoness. She was obviously not human, based on the horns curling up from her skull, but otherwise she was nothing like what they had expected.

By the time they all caught up with her in the main cave, she was already brewing tea and gestured for them to sit in the very comfortable plush looking chairs scattered around throughout the inviting space, leaden with expensive rugs and draped in fancy fabrics on the walls.

"Now, Kilala has told me that your young friend here has been stung by a manticore. How unfortunate, you are quite unlucky young lady." She said warmly as she handed out cups of steaming fragrant tea.

They all shared looks of astonishment that this demon seemed to be able to communicate with Kilala.

"Um…yes. I was. We were hoping that you might have a cure." Kagome said, trying not to sound scared.

"I see. No doubt." She said, settling back into her own chair. "Well, no time like the present. Show me this mark on your back."

Kagome blinked, a little startled by the request, but then stood and went over to her, turning and raising her shirt to show the mark.

"Hm...a male by the looks of it. The point is up not down. I see. Well, that is easier than a female's sting at least." She poked at it, getting a little wince from Kagome when her claw scraped off a little of the black flesh. She rubbed it between her fingers and sniffed it. "Dog spit. No wonder it's so well controlled."

Kagome flushed, and Inuyasha turned a little pink, his ears twitching.

"Since it's over your spine there's no way to simply carve out the flesh. Not that that really ever works anyways. So, the only option left is to put something within you to combat the poison, within your very blood. And that's the tricky part. We would need something just as strong as the poison. A powerful demon's blood might work."

"Demon blood? But then wouldn't all demons be immune to the poison?" Sango asked.

"Good question girl. In fact quite a few demons are 'immune' as you say, but only up to a point. Only demons with very fast recuperating abilities could combat the poison. I myself once had quite excellent regenerative powers, but of course with old age that ability has somewhat deteriorated. Reptile demons don't typically have those powers by the way…." She preened a little.

Everyone relaxed a little at this good news, until the old crone spoke once again. "Warm blooded demons like your dog demon here and the little fox demon would have a good chance at that sort of power. But there's no way they would ever agree to it because-"

"Use my blood." Inuyasha interrupted, staring right at the dragon demon and meeting her gaze when she turned her head.

"Are you quite sure about that? You know what that would mean. A blood sharing…."

"Yes I know." He interrupted her once again, sounding almost like he didn't want her to finish her sentence. That made Kagome just a little suspicious.

"Hm…how unusual." The old demoness blinked slowly, staring at him in surprise. "Very well then…Girl, your life has been spared."

Kagome jumped. "I-I…it is? We can cure it?!" She said, almost crying with the relief she felt rush through her.

"Yes. But it will come with consequences." At the sharp look from Inuyasha she huffed, "Lay your fur back down, Dog. I won't tell her about _that_ if you don't want me to. But she should probably know that she will be taking on aspects of a demon, yes?"

"Wait…what? What aren't you telling me, and what do you mean 'aspects of a demon'?" Kagome asked, looking back and forth between the two.

"It's nothing for you to worry about." Inuyasha huffed.

"By taking on aspects of a demon you will almost be like this half-demon here, not quite human and not quite demon. You will not be a half-demon like him, but you will absorb some of his demonic essence into yourself. There is no telling what it will do to you, how it will change you physically. Of course it will undoubtedly grant you a demon's lifespan, so that is a bonus."

Kagome blinked at this information. "Wait…Inuyasha, you have a longer lifespan?"

He just looked at her. "I was pinned to a tree for 200 years…what do you think?"

"Oh…" She blinked, shocked.

"So…when do you want to conduct the blood sharing ceremony?" The demoness interrupted her thoughts.

"As soon as possible." Inuyasha answered, then glanced at Kagome with a silent question in his eyes.

"Uh…yeah." She agreed, eager to get rid of the death threat looming over her head.

"You should know that this process in and of itself might kill you. It will be quite intense, and very painful." The demoness warned, and Kagome paled.

The others started to protest, but were shut up by Inuyasha. "It'll be fine, Kagome. You won't die, I wouldn't risk that."

The old crone cocked a scaly eyebrow at the young male. "Oh? Are you so sure of her scent then?"

"Yes."

Everyone looked back and forth between the two, confused. "Uh…what are you talking about?" Sango asked, Miroku nodding in agreement.

"I can tell her blood will accept mine based on her scent." Inuyasha muttered, glancing away and looking strangely uncomfortable. It was the same sort of discomfort that he got after licking her, and Kagome immediately was even more suspicious.

"Very well, then we shall begin immediately. You two, come with me, the rest of you wait here."

Everyone else protested, but were hushed at a look from Inuyasha.

"You guys stay here. It'll be fine. We'll be back in a bit." Kagome soothed, nervous and trusting Inuyasha to not do something too dangerous to her.

The others reluctantly nodded and all sat down in their chairs again, looking tense and nervous.

Kagome followed the two demons deeper into the caves, much deeper, until they reached a smallish room with a deep fire pit that the demoness promptly lit. It created a small almost smokeless fire, herbs burning as she tossed them in. The room filled with a strong herbal smell, one that was pleasant and a little intense, and made Kagome's head buzz.

"This will help ease the process for you, Girl. Come over here." Kagome unsteadily made her way over to a pad that the crone was constructing out of thick furs and then pillows and soft linens. When she reached the older women she was gently led to sit on it, which was a good thing since it felt like her legs were jelly now, the almost invisible smoke filling her head and making it all fluffy and soft. That in and of itself made her very nervous, but she fought down the nerves and made herself comfortable.

She sat and watched as the demoness busied herself with preparing who-knows-what, while Inuyasha stood nearby, tense and nervous too by the look of him. For a few minutes as the older woman finished the preparations, Inuyasha almost looked like he might bolt at any second. Kagome watched him, concerned as much as she could be with the fog in her head. He glanced over and met her eyes, a certain odd fear in his. But then as he looked at her his gaze softened, and it seemed the nerves leaked from him, mostly. A resolve firmed up his face and he glanced back over to the demoness as she walked over.

"Do you want to do this in the traditional method, or would you prefer to be more clinical about it?" She questioned, making no sense to Kagome, though the question made her tense with fear.

She didn't like being talked about as if she wasn't even here, and she really didn't like not knowing what was about to happen to her. The icing on the cake of discomfort was the fact that she was obviously being drugged by the smoke. The fact that they felt it was necessary to drug her for her to go along with this, whatever _this_ was, made her indescribably fearful. Just having her mind go all fuzzy made her scared and unsure.

She tuned in to the answer Inuyasha would give, hoping that it would shed some light on this whole thing. He glanced over at her, noting her anxious expression. "Traditional. I don't even want to know what you mean by clinical."

The old crone shrugged. "Suction devises and vein catheters mostly."

Inuyasha flinched. "Fuck no."

"Fair enough. And of course you are aware of what some of the side effects might be, are you prepared to deal with them in the traditional method as well, or do you intend to let her suffer?"

Inuyasha flinched. "I intend to let her make that decision." He mumbled, flushing.

Now Kagome was even _more_ worried, not less, and she felt close to hyperventilating. At a glance the old crone noted, "She's getting scared. I'll put more herbs on the fire."

"No!" Kagome protested, but was ignored by the older woman, and soon she felt herself get even more dizzy.

"Trust me…being tense is the last thing you want, Girl. You need to be as relaxed as possible for this to not hurt as much."

"Saying things like that isn't helping." Kagome muttered, flopping back onto the pad when the smoke made her so foggy and weird in her own head that she couldn't sit up straight.

It was incredibly strange, and frighteningly pleasant, almost making her so buzzed that it was nearly arousing, and that was the exact opposite of what she wanted to be feeling right now. She really wanted to be tense and aware of her surroundings, but all she could do was lay there and hope the herbs wore off soon enough for her to know what the fuck was going on.

She felt her legs being lifted and readjusted to lie on the pad, and she lazily opened her eyes, not even having noticed they were closed. She jerked, becoming more aware when she saw that Inuyasha had joined her on the pad and was sitting cross-legged next to her.

"Very well, the preparations are complete. I will stay to insure that you don't lose control of your demon, and to make sure the transfer is completed successfully, and then I will leave you two alone for the rest. Are you ready?"

"Ready for what exactly?" Kagome muttered sullenly, being more awake now. But she knew they weren't going to answer her.

As expected, they didn't answer her, and Inuyasha nodded jerkily. Kagome watched as the crone handed him a knife and bowl, and she tensed, worried and not nearly as relaxed at the sight of the weapon. But he didn't bring the blade anywhere near her, instead he sliced his own neck, making Kagome gasp and struggle to sit up, beyond worried. But apparently he had cut it in a way that was not lethal, and he bled freely into the bowl for a few minutes but then the blood slowed to a trickle and the wound started to close.

The crone watched on with satisfaction. "You indeed heal quickly; your blood will be perfect. And you made the cut across your neck…I'm impressed. I do believe you intend for this to be a true union."

"Union?" Kagome slurred, confused.

"A good transfusion." Inuyasha supplied, and she nodded.

He handed the bowl full of his blood to the crone, who grabbed it and held it carefully so that it didn't spill. She then handed off something to him and he took it, turning to Kagome. She was already halfway sitting up, so it was easy for him to slip an arm behind her and pull her close, closer than she'd been to him outside of his carrying her. She was unnerved by it and she jerked, tensing a little. He put whatever it was that the crone had handed him into his mouth and he began chewing, making a face as he did, and then his head dipped and his lips touched down on her neck, shocking the hell out of her.

"W-what are you doing?" She sputtered, struggling a little as his mouth parted and she felt him smear a thick substance onto her skin with his tongue. She didn't even notice the crone walking over to the fire and tossing more herbs on, until that same smell perforated the room and she gasped, groaned in protest and then went limp in Inuyasha's arms. She found the drug even more intoxicating when paired with the sensation of his arms around her and the way his lips and tongue were caressing her neck. She couldn't help but shiver and let her neck go limp, one of his hands coming up to hold her head too. He was now holding all her weight, seemingly effortlessly.

She felt the substance, whatever it was, make her skin start to tingle, and then it seemed as if that spot became almost numb, but also hypersensitive in a weird way. He pulled away, handling her with one arm as he used his other hand to press and massage the thick liquid even more into her skin. Her whole neck felt tingly and weird now, and after a little while he apparently scraped it off and wiped his hand on a towel that the crone provided. Aside from the pleasant tingling, Kagome couldn't feel a damn thing, so she didn't even feel him scrape it off, she only knew he had when he wiped his hand off.

And then his head dipped once again and she felt his lips very lightly kiss her up behind her ear and then he whispered, "I'm sorry, this will hurt a little, but try and just relax okay?"

In her fuzzy state Kagome was barely even surprised that he had kissed her and just nodded lazily against his shoulder where her head was resting, and she thought she felt his lips smile a little against her skin before his mouth trailed back down her neck, which she couldn't feel. She sure as heck felt when he bit into her though, and her eyes flew open when she felt his fangs dig deep into her neck, right where her vein was. She almost felt like she might choke, but he didn't bite deep enough to pierce her esophagus thankfully, though it sure felt like it was deep enough.

This time she was grateful when she smelt the herbs fill the air again, and eagerly accepted the relaxation they gave her, easing the pain. Even so, she was left panting for air and couldn't help but moan and whimper in pain. Even though it hurt like crazy, she tried to keep herself relaxed and accept the bite. After the initial bite he waited for a moment, and then he pulled back and she groaned again at the pull against her raw nerves. She utterly went limp as he removed himself completely, and her eyes closed and she lay there panting in his arms, just trying to catch her breath. She didn't see what he was doing, but when he returned to her neck she flinched.

He dug his fangs in again for a second, making her jerk and yelp, but then his fangs retreated and instead she felt a different kind of pressure, as if he was somehow shoving something into the wounds, and it took her a long moment to realize that it was his own blood, which he had filled his mouth with and was now pushing into the fang wounds with his mouth. It didn't hurt as much as the bite, but it still wasn't pleasant. His blood burned inside of the puncture wounds, and slowly the burn spread down from there. He refilled his mouth with blood and continued. She jerked again when he paused and bit her again. It didn't hurt as much this time, though it was still insanely painful, but it also oddly sent a zing through her body that wasn't unpleasant at all, though it was intense. She gasped and jerked in his arms, which he tightened around her even more. She also smelled even more herbs, and she relaxed again.

He kept it up, pushing blood into her and periodically biting her in the same spot, which she didn't understand and so one time she groaned, "Why do you keep biting?"

"My saliva and blood are closing the wounds. I'm sorry."

"Oh…." She said softly as he latched back on.

Strangely every bite felt less painful than the last, and sent ever stronger pulses of sensation through her that she was beginning to realize were actually arousing. That was embarrassing, and she did her best to control that particular response.

It seemed to go on forever, and by the end she found herself praying that it would be done soon, because she didn't know how much longer she could stand it and pretend she wasn't completely aroused, because that was much too humiliating, and she refused to let anyone know. If someone were to find out she would instantly die she was sure. Besides that, her body was insanely confused because not only was it aroused, but it was also in an amazing amount of pain from the burning blood flashing throughout her now.

"Finished. You successfully completed the transfer. Congratulations. I will take my leave now."

Inuyasha just nodded and gently laid Kagome down on the pad, where she slumped and stayed still, hoping that if she simply didn't move both of the sensations running rampant through her body would calm down. She heard the crone leaving, and was grateful that she threw a last handful of herbs onto the fire to help her deal with the pain, though it certainly didn't help with the other problem.

In fact, it only seemed to make things worse, and she shuddered, not at all pleased with the heat building in her stomach. It was completely unnecessary and utterly embarrassing. And so she jumped when she felt his tongue on her neck again, the sensation hitting her with all the subtlety of a bolt of lightning.

"W-wha?" She muttered, confused by his actions.

"It's still bleeding a tiny bit." He answered her incomprehensible question.

"Oh."

He settled himself behind her, close but not quite touching. In her heightened state she could swear she actually felt his body heat looming behind her. It was highly unnerving, and definitely didn't lessen the warmth curling inside her any. They lay like that for a little while, and she slowly shifted from being half and half to the pain overwhelming the other irritating things happening in her body without her permission. In fact the pain was mounting, the burn getting sharper and more encompassing by the minute, and she assumed that the drug was also probably slowly wearing off. As a particularly unpleasant zing went through her blood stream, seeming to zero in on the spot in her back, she rolled onto her side and curled into a ball, tremors racking her frame as she fought the pain silently. Yes, there was still arousal pulsing through her, confusing everything and mucking her senses up, but the pain was the predominant sensation now, and it _hurt._

"You're in pain…." Inuyasha murmured, and got off the pad, walking over to the fire.

Kagome would have stopped him if she knew he was going to grab more herbs from a pot and throw them onto the fire, but she was left having to protest afterwards. "No…Don't Inuyasha. It makes things worse…." She grimaced, but then relaxed as the smoke reached her and made her head pleasantly fuzzy, making the things going on inside her do an abrupt shift and the pain went to the backburner while the arousal came forwards again. The pain was still a lot worse than before, but it was manageable now, the arousal dampening it.

"Really? Because it looks like it relaxed you." Inuyasha said in response to her complaint. "What exactly does it make worse?"

"Uh…."

"Does it make the pain worse?"

"Uh…what else?" Kagome muttered, not wanting to lie and trying to get away with a question in replace of an answer.

"Feh…You're lying again."

Kagome turned red and curled into a tighter ball, not about to enlighten Inuyasha as to what exactly she was suffering from. She was not going to tell him she was aroused, even if it killed her.

He came over and squatted down on his haunches in front of her, trying to catch her eyes, but she turned her face away, shoving it more into the padding.

He sighed and then in a softer voice he said, "Look…there's no use trying to hide it. I already know all about the side effects."

A brief flash of memory zipped through her fuzzy mind and she gasped, realizing he had known from the very beginning that this would happen. How dare he do this without telling her? Without warning her? Not that she was sure it would have helped at all, but she felt kind of violated, and as furious as the fluffy shit in her head would allow.

She glared at him and spat, "Well I don't know what you're talking about Inuyasha."

He just sighed again. "Okay, well, we can do this one of two ways. Without the herbs the pain's gonna get worse and worse and might even cause a seizure or a heart attack…I've heard it gets that bad. With the herbs you'll…uh…have those side effects, and those will also get worse, but you'll stay relaxed and the transfusion will be less stressful to your body and there are less potential complications. There will still be pain, but it'll be a lot better."

She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, feeling like her face was on fire, in a state of disbelief that they were even talking about this. "I still don't know what you mean by side effects, so I'll take the pain. At least I know what to expect there."

He growled softly. "Stubborn girl. I know you know what I'm talking about. Do you want me to get explicit and describe what exactly is going on in your body right now?" When she didn't respond he started listing, "Rapid heart-rate, panting, pain of course, feverishness, intense arousal which means-"

Kagome then reacted, interrupting him before it could get any worse. "Okay! Okay, I get it, shut up Inuyasha!" Her face was hotter than it had ever been before and she felt like dying right there on the spot, really just wishing the ground would swallow her up. Since that was impossible she grabbed the linens and padding next to her and yanked them over her, burying herself and curling into a tight ball, wishing she could disappear and Inuyasha would go away.

He sat back on his haunches, his yellow eyes slightly amused but mostly serious. She didn't see that since her head was under the covers, but she heard him as he asked, "Why are you so embarrassed about it? It's just a natural part of this whole thing."

She grumbled, "Yeah…easy for you to say, you were expecting for it to happen."

There was a long silence and then after a while Inuyasha spoke again. "If I were you, I'd go with the second option. It's embarrassing as hell, for you apparently, but it'll at least not have you screaming and frothing at the mouth in agony."

She winced, seeing his point. Also it would probably be very upsetting for him to see her like that. After a great deal of thought she sighed and poked her face out of the cocoon she had made for herself, and said, "Fine, go ahead then." Really she would prefer the pain, but she didn't want to risk having a heart attack or something, so there wasn't really another option.

She ducked back into the blankets, but left a hole for her nose and mouth so she'd get the smoke, and she was immediately smacked across the face with it. It smelt like he had put on a much stronger blend this time, and she immediately felt drunk and woozy, completely fuzzy in the head, and utterly aroused, to the point that she could actually feel herself _throbbing_ down there. She winced, a tiny groan escaping her and she huddled up into her protective bundle, beginning to sweat from the heat and feeling like she might combust but not about to come out any time soon. She resolved to stay inside the linens until this whole thing was over.

All she could really do was just scrunch her eyes closed and ball her fists into the cloth around her, forcing herself to stay still and let her body do whatever it was going to do, but refusing to let herself succumb to the intense feelings and sensations. It was torture, but she managed, gritting her teeth and locking her muscles until they shook just a little from tension. Her hips wanted to do all sorts of inappropriate bucking and grinding movements and her legs really wanted to press and rub against each other, really anything to get some sort of pressure or friction against that spot that throbbed the most, but there was no way in hell any of that was going to happen.

She felt some movement and then a warm pressure behind her, as if Inuyasha was cuddling up to her back, probably trying to lend support. It didn't help, but it did make her heart melt a little at the sweet gesture. She was still fighting utter humiliation, and pondered maybe just staying here all bundled up and hidden for the rest of her life. She didn't know if she'd ever be able to look him in the eye again after this, even if it didn't seem to bother him at all. Naturally that only bugged her, again feeling like she had back at the hot spring.

She really kind of wanted to just ask him to leave, but something in his eyes earlier had told her that this was really important somehow, and she got the feeling this meant a lot to him for some reason. She figured kicking him out would probably really offend him, or hurt him somehow, and so she resisted the urge, even though it was driving her insane. If he would just step out of the room for a few minutes she could sneak a hand down between her legs and relieve some of that pressure, her clit literally beginning to ache, but then again he'd know what she was doing, and that would be a whole new level of humiliation. She just couldn't bear the thought that he already knew she was aroused; she'd be damned before she humiliated herself any further.

As the time ticked on, she found herself getting warmer and warmer, the arousal baking her from the inside out and the pain ramping up as well, both getting so much worse as the minutes passed by. The arousal itself was almost painful now, her entire groin area probably so full of blood that it felt almost as if it was bruised, and she wondered absentmindedly if this was what they meant by "blue balls." If so, she felt bad for guys out there who had to deal with this on a regular basis, because she didn't think women really ever got this aroused and stayed that way for long periods of time. The only times she had ever been this ramped up were the times she had touched herself in her bedroom at night back home, and she certainly hadn't kept herself there for long since, at the level she was at, usually she was only a few minutes from orgasming, and that was usually precisely what she did. If, for whatever reason, she had to stop, it would be uncomfortable for a few minutes but would slowly go away. Now though it was just staying there, making her hotter and hotter and more and more uncomfortable, and she had to wonder if orgasming would even help at this point. She'd probably just stay aroused no matter what she did, although maybe it would give her some sort of temporary relief.

It might give her some relief from the pain as well, which had also gotten a lot worse, and was especially bad in her back as Inuyasha's blood did battle with the poisoned mark. It had gotten to the point that she was almost considering giving the masturbation thing a shot, since that always helped whenever she had cramps or other such things back home. It even helped relieve headaches sometimes, but of course that wasn't an option with Inuyasha snuggled up to her back like her was.

His body heat was also contributing to why she was drenched in sweat, and when he left to go put even more herbs on the fire she found herself tossing the covers back, pretty much over the embarrassment, at least to a certain extent since it had been going on for so long, and now she had reached a breaking point when it came to the heat. She still curled into a ball, helping to ease her shyness that way, but she felt much better as she shivered in the seemingly cold air, which was actually not cold at all but felt that way on her drenched skin. She lay, panting and shivering on the pad, her eyes closed since she didn't want to see Inuyasha at the moment, and just settled in for a long uncomfortable wait. The fresh smoke wafted over her, helping the shivers to ease, and she relaxed, still panting but much more relaxed. The smoke made her mind pleasantly fuzzy, which helped her to not be so self-conscious, but she also had to fight against it to keep some sanity about her to prevent herself from humping the nearest thing.

Inuyasha curled up next to her again, and to her surprise even wrapped an arm around her, which made her flinch. She didn't protest the embrace though, because as much as it ramped up her aroused state, it also helped to soothe her strangely, and she relaxed into his chest as she felt it press against her back. She was amazed he was being so cuddly at this particular moment, surely he knew how it was going to affect her, but apparently that didn't bother him. She refused to think about the ifs and whys, because it would only give her a headache.

She struggled through another hour or so, hoping that it would be over soon, and she got to a point where fidgeting didn't really embarrass her anymore because she was so out of it that she honestly didn't have complete control over her body anymore. Half of the time she was cringing and whimpering as a blast of pain accosted her nerves, and then the other half she was squirming and muffling the sounds that wanted to come out of her by biting her tongue. The reactions to the pain didn't bother her, but the moans and wriggling did, and she continued to try and control those as much as possible. It felt like her poor senses were torn in half, caught between hell and not really heaven. Really, it was much closer to being stuck between one kind of hell and another, torturous pleasure or just plain torture. Although, really the arousal wasn't even giving her all that much in the way of pleasure, it probably would if she gave into it, but mostly it was just aggravating her.

After an hour of simply holding her Inuyasha nuzzled the back of her head and said, "How you doin'?"

"Fucking fantastic…." She groused sarcastically on a groan.

"Did…you just drop the f-bomb?" He asked, sounding close to laughter.

"Yes I did. The situation calls for it." She grumbled, as she failed to get her thighs to stop rubbing together. That felt a little too good actually and she focused on the pain radiating through her body to get a little control back and forced her legs to stillness.

Inuyasha chuckled shortly in response to her explanation, and they fell silent again for a little while. As a groan escaped her and she pulled her legs up to her chest, curling into an even tighter fetal positon miserably, he mumbled, "Do you want me to…help?"

She froze, not at all expecting any sort of thing like that to come out of his mouth. Just what did he think he was doing? He loved Kikyo, why in the world would he ever offer to _help_ her out with anything like _this_? Unless he just felt so sorry for her that he felt obliged to offer. And really, she didn't even know what he was offering; her feverish brain was probably jumping to the completely wrong conclusions.

"Uh…I don't know if I'm ready for another dose of herbs just yet." She managed to get out without moaning.

He huffed against her neck, making her shiver. "Feh, that's not what I meant. I'm offering to touch you to help relieve some of the _discomfort_."

Kagome shivered again, and sucked in a deep breath as her vagina did some very inappropriate pulsing and squeezing that hijacked her higher brain functions for a split second. She gritted her teeth, waiting for her body to quit being quite so rude. After a few seconds she was able to think rationally, or at least semi-rationally again, and she somehow managed to stammer, "Wh-uh…um…I-I don't th-think that's a really good idea."

"You sure? You look pretty damn miserable."

She tensed a little. "I don't need your pity. Forcing yourself to do something like that just because you feel sorry for me is not the way I want….uh, well, anything."

He sighed, sounding exasperated. "It's not pity….and I wouldn't be forcing myself, but whatever." He grumbled under his breath.

She was left grasping at straws, completely thrown for a loop and not sure what to do. The pain and arousal were getting to her and she didn't know how much more she could take. After a while she rasped, "How much longer is this going to take?"

She felt his shrug. "Dunno. Hours maybe?"

She groaned, burying her face into the pad beneath them. "Could you just hit me over the head and knock me out?" She asked, actually relatively serious.

"Uh…no."

"Please?" She asked, really wishing she could just pass out.

"Are we seriously talking about this? No!" He barked, aggravated. "If it's that bad just relieve yourself."

She turned about fifty different shades of red and cringed. "No thank you." She mumbled, burying her head under the one pillow.

Inuyasha grumbled and then yanked the pillow off her head before shoving it down, using his other hand to rather abruptly grab her knee and yanked up, parting her thighs and putting the pillow between her legs, all within a few seconds.

She yelped and squirmed, trying to free herself when he grabbed her and then doing her best to get away from the offending pillow, which was made very difficult because her legs instinctively clamped down on it. Her hips bucked forwards without her permission and she bit her hand to hold back a moan. She tightened everything she possessed in her middle to keep herself still, and also did her very best to ignore the rush of pleasure that assaulted her senses from the pressure and friction of that one movement. Normally grinding against a pillow was nowhere near enough to make her orgasm, but under the circumstances she wouldn't doubt that she could accomplish it, and with little to no effort. And that was a horrifying thought.

Being aroused was one thing, but actually going that far was definitely going to make it so that she would never be able to be in the same room as Inuyasha again, much less even look at him. Unfortunately she was helpless to do anything except freeze and do her best to not move a single muscle as she choked, "Get that thing away from me."

"If you don't like it, get rid of it yourself."

"I can't! Just- just take it away!" Kagome begged, not above it at this moment.

"Just get it out of your system, you might even fall asleep if you do." He pulled back a little. "Here, does this help?" He tossed some of the thinner top linens over her before cuddling back up to her back and wrapping an arm around her, cocooning her in blankets.

She shuddered, curling up more and wrapping her arms around the rather large pillow, the covering of the blankets making her feel more like she was alone, even though she could clearly feel Inuyasha pressed up behind her. She lay there, frozen and unable to really do anything at all, trembling with pain and also pleasure as the curled position stressed her back but put pressure on the pillow between her legs. She felt Inuyasha shift and then leave for a moment, and then the scent of the herbal smoke filtered through her blankets and the heat and solidness of Inuyasha reappeared behind her, pulling her back into him with an arm around her waist.

Her tenseness slowly melted away as the smoke helped her to relax again, and she let herself arch her hips forwards into the pillow some, trying not to move too much but very subtly rubbing against the fluffy friction. It felt amazing and she found herself biting the padding under her to muffle the humiliating sounds, as she allowed herself grind into the pillow, still doing her best to not move too quickly or make any large movements, hoping that the blankets over her masked what she was doing. Of course, he could probably feel it firsthand since he was snuggled up to her back, but she curled her lower body up and as far away from him as she could and kept her upper body as still as possible while still moving her legs and hips.

It wasn't very successful, but it was the best she could do, and with the smoke making her head fuzzy she was able to trick herself into believing that he didn't know what she was doing. It was the only way she was finally able to let herself snuggle up into the pillow and rub herself against it, using her legs and hips to grind down on it as much as she could while still not humping and rustling the blankets. She clenched her legs and clenched the muscles inside of herself, pushing the pillow as hard as she could against herself with her crisscrossed legs, and then orgasmed. It hit her without too much warning, the buildup already being about where she had been for the past hour, and so that deep burning heat that usually let her know when it was going to happen didn't help.

It caught her by surprise almost and she couldn't help the small yelp that popped out of her throat as she jerked forwards. Instead of bucking and spasming like she normally would, she curled around the pillow as much as she could, clamping her legs down tight, her thighs jerking but staying put. Her hips made little jerky motions forwards into the pillow, which she couldn't help, but by curling up like she had it kept everything much more controlled than the wild convulsions that were typical. She only hoped that she managed to keep it hidden, because she couldn't bear the thought of Inuyasha knowing what had happened. Strangely though, the thought of him right behind her just sent her into another orgasm, and she was forced to grip the pillow and squeeze it as tight as she could, doing her best to curl up into a ball around it and keep all her uncontrollable twitches going into the pillow and not translating to Inuyasha.

It lasted forever, all that built up tension releasing with an explosion. It wasn't something she wanted, but it certainly did make her feel much better, and even the pain eased with all the endorphins released in her brain. Even after the spasms passed her insides continued to pulse and contract in waves and she stayed put, relaxing somewhat but not wanting to move anytime soon. Even once the contractions had passed she stayed put around the pillow, not wanting to uncurl and indicate she had finished. If she just stayed in the same spot, maybe he would think nothing had happened and she had just fallen asleep or something.

Ironically that's exactly what she did do, the orgasm helping to soothe her enough that she basically passed out, which was precisely what she had been hoping for.

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

He could tell she didn't want him to know what she was doing under that blanket. But he could tell. Even though her hips were curled up and away from him he could still feel the movements in her upper body that indicated she was finally taking his advice and was rubbing against the pillow he had put between her legs. He was relieved that she finally seemed to get with the picture and relaxed enough to take care of herself, he didn't know how much longer he would have been able to stand watching her suffer before he intervened, with or without her permission.

He wasn't lying when he had told her he wouldn't be forcing himself, in fact it was all he could do to force himself to _not_ touch her. All he allowed himself was to wrap his arm around her middle, and even that was torture. He desperately wanted to move his hand down and touch her where that pillow was currently located, the scent of her arousal so heavy in the air that he had been dying to test and see just how wet she really was. He suspected she was probably utterly drenched, and the thought had been tormenting his mind for the past few hours relentlessly. Her scent was so heavy in the air he could literally taste it if he breathed with his mouth open, and that only made him want to taste it at the source.

She wasn't the only one suffering with arousal at the moment, he was likewise very uncomfortable, nearly painfully so, and he was glad that she insisted on curling her lower body away from his because if she hadn't she would have felt exactly what she had been doing to him.

This whole situation was so confusing to him, or at least it had been in the beginning. He had felt indescribably guilty, knowing he was about to break his promise to Kikyo, and hating himself for it, but at the same time this was the only way to save Kagome. The further into the blood sharing ceremony they went, the more certain he was that he had made the right decision.

There was no more denying the way he felt about Kagome, not after this, and in a way he felt relieved because of it.

His thoughts were interrupted by the tiny yelp that came from under the blankets and he felt her convulse. His arm that was wrapped around her middle could feel every shiver that went through her, and he was fascinated to discover that it seemed her muscles contracted in a similar way as his when he orgasmed. They were doing it so intensely that he could feel the pulses up in her stomach where he was holding her. He very nearly came on the spot himself just from feeling her come apart while he held her, but he bit his lip to try and regain a little bit of control, unconcerned about the wound considering it would be healed by the time this was all over with. It didn't help him any when his ears tilted towards her of their own accord so he could pick up every tiny sound she made, no matter how she tried to muffle them.

He desperately wished he could be more involved in this highly intimate moment, but he forced himself to stay still and pretend like he didn't know what was going on under that blanket because he knew it would embarrass her to an insane degree. It was frustrating just how shy she seemed to get with these sorts of things and he had to wonder if she would be this embarrassed about other stuff. He hoped that if their relationship ever got more intimate she wouldn't protest quite so much, even if it was kind of cute.

He waited to see what she would do, and then nearly laughed when all she did was freeze and stay still; undoubtedly hoping that he hadn't noticed what had just happened. He breathed out a deep sigh of relief when he heard her breathing change and she seemed to finally be able to get some sleep. He was glad for her, and also used the moment to relieve himself, pulling back slightly from her very slowly and then sneaking a hand down inside his hakama. He wasted no time in subversively jerking himself off, not having any idea how long she would be out, and he managed to accomplish the task at hand without jarring her and waking her again, for which he was grateful. Once finished he wiped off with a cloth that he tucked inside the pocket of his kosode, intending to dispose of it properly later.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

She woke to searing pain, the arousal thankfully gone, but the pain much worse. "W-wha?!" She groaned, discombobulated and confused.

"Hey, you're awake. The drug has worn off so you're probably in a lot of pain huh?"

"Yeah." She grunted, her body twisting.

"The herb doesn't really work when you're unconscious, but it should help now." Inuyasha stood from where he had been holding her, and she had to wonder how she had ended up all tangled in the linens. It took her a second to remember what all had happened right before she passed out, but when she did, she flush hot red.

She tensed when the scent of the herbs filtered through the air, expecting another resurge of the despicable arousal, but strangely it just soothed her and made her more relaxed. "Uh…Inuyasha? Are those the same herbs as before?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Oh, uh, no reason."

"If you're wondering why it's not affecting you like before, that'd be because it's been long enough since the transfusion that you don't have that in your system anymore. It's the bite and blood sharing that sparks that particular reaction. Without that, the herbs are just relaxing."

"Oh." She muttered, doing her best to pretend they weren't talking about what they were currently talking about.

The herbs did help, and she slowly relaxed, her embarrassment easing. With a slightly more relaxed mind she decided that she was going to pretend that the events of the last few hours never took place. She was never going to think about, and certainly never talk about it, ever again.

The pain eased and she was able to pass out again, determined to forget everything that had happened.

* * *

2nd Author's Note:

So, someone figured it out, and as promised, here is the next chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed the little limeade here, even if it was awkward and on the odd side of things. It wasn't nearly as explicit as I made it out to be really, but I wanted to make sure to warn everyone strongly to avoid anyone getting freaked out, that would be no fun.

I'm excited to hear what everyone thought of it! Don't forget to review, it's the fuel that keep me writing. :3 Let me know who wants more of these little lemon drops. ;)


	7. Chapter 7

The next time she woke she was feeling quite a bit better, the pain beginning to dull now, and she sat up a little, blinking in confusion. She had the distinct fuzzy feeling that there was something that she was trying to remember, but that she didn't really want to, and so she just shoved it back down into the space it was trying to bubble up from. The last few hours were a fuzzy indistinct blur in her mind, the last thing she remembered clearly was being very nervous and the crone putting some sort of herb in the fire, and then….a lot of pain? There were some other things that didn't make too much sense, like the feeling that she had been aroused, which was confirmed by the fact that she felt distinctly sticky between her legs, but she had no idea why that might be. It was always possible that she had simply sweated a lot, and maybe peed on herself a little, which was sort of an embarrassing thought.

She decided she probably didn't want to know what exactly had happened, so she brushed it off. "Uh…what the heck happened? Did we do the blood transfer thing? Is it over?" She asked, getting a brief fuzzy memory of Inuyasha…biting her? She shook her head, no that didn't make sense. She must have passed out and had some really funky dreams.

"Yeah, it's over. Do you remember anything?" He asked, not sounding particularly surprised that her memories of it were all fuzzy and indistinct.

"Uh…not really. I remember the crone putting herbs on the fire…and then fuzz. I remember a lot of pain…and…uh…well, some other things that I think must have been some really crazy dreams. How long was I out?"

"A good few hours." He stood and walked around behind her. "Let's see what the wound looks like on your back."

"Oh, yeah, good idea." She said, holding the shirt in front as he pulled it up in the back.

"It looks good. It's just a regular scar now."

"Really?!" She yelped, twisting her head back as far she could to try and get a glimpse of it.

"Yep."

"Oh god, I'm so glad. What a huge relief." She sighed, so incredibly relieved and happy that she didn't have death hanging over her any more. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off her back, like she had been carrying around her huge yellow pack for the past month or so strait and now she could finally take it off.

"So did I grow a pair of ears like yours?" She asked, remembering what the crone had said about her appearance possibly changing.

"Nope. Same old human ears. Although…" He approached and lifted her hair taking a look at one ear. "Actually they are a little pointy now."

"Really?" That wasn't too bad, maybe she'd look like an elf or a fairy or something. "Anything else?"

"Well…your eyes are lighter, more amber than brown now. And, uh, I might take a look at your hands if I were you."

She looked down and brought her hands up for inspection, and sure enough her nails had turned into claws, like Inuyasha's but much shorter. She didn't have his talons at least, but they were definitely obviously claws. They came to sharp points and everything. She grimaced, wondering how she was gonna hide this when she went home. As she grimaced she felt something odd about her mouth and ran her tongue along her teeth, immediately suspicious. Sure enough she had little fangs too.

"Okay…so, claws, fangs, pointy ears, amber eyes, anything else?"

"Um…well you do have streaks on your face."

"Say what?" She asked, tensing.

"Right here." He answered, running his fingers very carefully, minding his claws, up along the very tops of her cheekbones, right under her eyes and out to the sides of her face.

She blinked. "Great, that's gonna be a pain to hide."

He scowled. "Why do you want to hide them?"

"Well, when I go back home they're gonna think I got tattoos or something on my face."

His face cleared somewhat, though he still looked displeased. "Whatever."

He turned and walked out the door, Kagome following him. They exited out into the halls and Inuyasha led her all the way back to the others, and Kagome at first wondered how he was figuring out how to go back, until she herself began to pick up on a slight smell in the air. It smelled herbal, kind of, and Inuyasha was following it.

"Hey Inuyasha? Do you smell that?"

"What?"

"That sort of herbal smell, and kind of like old lady perfume."

He snorted. "That's the crone's scent. So you can smell it now?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Although it's pretty faint."

"Well, you're nose is a little better at least, but it's still not as strong as mine." He shot a teasing look over his shoulder at her.

She chuckled, amused by his taunts. "Well maybe, but I'm not sure I want a nose as sensitive as yours. I'd never be able to enjoy scented soap and girly stuff if it were."

He grimaced. "Ew. I don't know why you females like that stuff."

She laughed outright at his disgusted expression, feeling so happy and relieved and like nothing at all could be wrong with the world right now.

After retracing their steps they finally exited out into the main room, to see Miroku, Sango, and Shippō all fast asleep in their comfy chairs. Before Kagome could really decide how to go about waking them up, or if she even should, Inuyasha made the choice for her.

"Hey! What are you all doin'? It's time to go." He bellowed, scowling.

Miroku woke with a snort and jerked upright, his ponytail skewy and some of his hair escaping it. Sango yelped and grabbed her giant boomerang. Shippō fell out of his chair.

Once they all figured out what was going on, they converged on Kagome, pretty much ignoring Inuyasha except to give him a few foul looks for waking them so rudely. Kagome found herself bombarded with questions she didn't know how to answer, and had the strange feeling that she didn't want to answer, so she simply told them that she didn't remember much, that there was some sort of drug that had dulled the pain and had also made her memory fuzzy.

"You drugged her?" Miroku asked Inuyasha, giving him a suspicious narrow eyed look.

"Yeah! What exactly happened in there Inuyasha!" Sango seconded.

"I ain't gonna tell ya, it's none of your business."

That resulted in a lot more protests, many of them quite loud and heated, and Inuyasha finally threw his hands up and growled, "It's not supposed to be known by humans! It's a secret fucking ceremony you dumbasses! Leave off! All I'm gonna tell ya is that I shared my blood with Kagome and she now possesses some of my demon essence, which is what saved her."

That finally satisfied them enough that they backed off.

Strangely the old woman had disappeared, and they weren't able to find her to thank her for saving Kagome, so after a while of fruitless searching they decided to rest in the living area a little bit and then left. They made the long trek back to the village, the first thing on the itinerary being to let Kaede know that Kagome was alright.

The trip back wasn't nearly as hectic, or nearly as stressful to Kagome, but there was one thing that bugged her. Shortly after leaving the cave system, Miroku gave her bow back to her, stating that he had it repaired after the incident with the manticore, and had been holding onto it since he hadn't wanted her to further injure her back by practicing.

She quickly found out that she now couldn't shoot the way she had before.

Once they had stopped for the night after leaving the caves, Kagome waited until everyone was asleep to go and practice shooting her bow in the forest. She picked a nice spot, drew an arrow and notched it on her string, and then pulled back, relishing the feel of no pain in her back. Sighting down the arrow at the knot on the tree she had chosen to be her target, she felt for the ball of spiritual energy that she always tapped into when shooting her arrows. But instead of the typical warm tingly feeling she got when she drew on it, she instead felt a rush of fire and chills, and immediately sensed that the energy she had drawn upon was not that of a priestess. She could still sense her powers underneath the vicious bubbling force that now surged in her veins and filled her with a violent energy, but she couldn't access it.

Terrified, she severed the connection and dropped the bow and arrow like a hot potato, hissing as she felt her claws zinging with energy. It took a while, but the nearly electrified feeling slowly dwindled to nothing, and she shakily returned back to camp, wondering what the hell had just happened.

Over the next few days she tried again, only to be met with the same results, and was forced to come to the conclusion that there were now demonic powers within her that were blocking her ability to perform as a priestess. Naturally this was both very frustrating, and rather scary to Kagome, and so one night, about halfway home, she brought it up to the others.

Or rather, they brought it up when they witnessed Kagome trying to hit a rock with her arrow, only to randomly start cussing in colorful language they rarely heard her use before dropping her bow which was oddly vibrating and hissing and glowing in a disconcerting manner.

"Um, Kagome? What the heck are ya doin'?" Inuyasha asked with his typical tact.

"What does it look like I'm fucking doing Inuyasha!? I'm trying to shoot this damn arrow and I can't!" And then she promptly burst into tears.

"Did she just say...?" Sango whispered to Miroku, who silently nodded, his eyes wide and shocked.

Inuyasha didn't seem perturbed by her language, but he was obviously very upset about the crying jag that had popped up out of no-where, and he was currently sputtering and whining and sounding rather cranky and pathetic himself. "K-Kagome?! What're ya'…why're ya …. Would you please stop cryin' already?!"

She huffed. "I'm crying because I can't do the one thing that I can do right. I can't shoot my bow and arrows any more so I'm completely useless! I'm just dead weight again!"

"Calm down Kagome, let's think about this. Why are you unable to shoot the bow?" Miroku soothed, coming up behind her to pat her on the back.

Inuyasha growled at him, his hackles obviously raised by the seemingly familiar touching going on. Miroku just scowled back but placated the angry hanyou by raising both hands into the air in a submissive manner.

Kagome, meanwhile, didn't notice any of this because she was much too busy trying to explain the problem. "Every time I try to shoot, I reach for my spiritual powers like I usually do, but I'm met with this demonic energy instead, and it makes my bow start to heat up. I'm absolutely sure that it would break if I tried actually shooting an arrow from it. And the stupid demon powers hurt, they burn inside of me and are completely blocking my normal powers. I don't even know if my priestess powers are still there!"

"We'll figure it out Kagome, don't worry." Sango said, also coming to her friend's aide.

"Yes, once we do a little research, I'm sure the problem can be resolved." Miroku added.

"Geez, it's just your new powers Kagome. It's nothing to get so worked up about."

Everyone turned to look at Inuyasha.

"Her new powers?" Shippō asked the older demon.

"Yeah, I mean, she got some of my demon essence remember? You said it yourself Kagome, it's demonic power you feel within you right? That's just the blood I gave you. All it's done is made you more powerful."

"Great! Thanks Inuyasha! But how the heck am I supposed to use this great new power when it prevents me from using any of my old skills?!"

There was a long pause as everyone thought about it, before Inuyasha once again surprised everyone with a simple, but brilliant plan. "We'll just go get a damper like the Tessaiga is for me. With a damper to cap your demon powers, you should be able to access all your old powers again. Then when you want to use your new powers you can just take off the damper."

"That's…actually a really good idea Inuyasha." Miroku said, sounding sort of shocked.

"Why do you sound so surprised Miroku? Think I'm dumb or something?" was the snarky reply.

And so, they promptly set off for Totosai, the maker of Inuyasha's sword, since he was the only person they knew capable of making one of these dampers.

When they arrived, he naturally was rather difficult to talk to, what with his forgetfulness and tendency to be intentionally dense when a difficult problem presented itself, but eventually, and with a lot of threatening by Inuyasha, the man agreed to try and make Kagome a damper. He didn't specialize in making such things specifically, but with some experimentation and two fangs from a kicking and screaming Inuyasha, he was able to construct a little pointy dagger, one that was only perhaps three or four inches long. It was small enough to be worn around her neck as a pendent on a very long chain, and since that was what she had expressed as her desire to do, he had been nice enough to make a little loop at the end through which she could thread the chain. The blade was pale, shiny, and not quite metallic looking but not really looking like bone either, which surprised Kagome when she first saw it. She was also startled by the size.

"Oh my gosh. That's a lot bigger than I expected. And it came from only two of Inuyasha's fangs?"

"Well yes. Mixed with various metals and such and hammered flat to make the blade, his fangs were the perfect size."

"Yeah, thanks. That makes me feel so much better." Inuyasha spat sarcastically.

"They grew back, don't be so surly." Miroku scolded.

Sango frowned at him, though there was an edge of sympathy in her eyes as well. "It's for a good cause after all."

He humphed. "Yeah, well if it wasn't for Kagome he wouldn't have gotten near my teeth."

Said girl flushed at the implication of that statement, but did her best not to read too deeply into it. "Thanks again Inuyasha." She mumbled as she accepted the proffered item, sliding the looped end through the long chain she happened to find stuffed in her large yellow bag. It always amazed her what ended up in there.

She dropped the chain around her neck and the ever so slightly curved blade came to rest in between her breasts. Strangely it didn't feel cold like normal metal, it was oddly warm. In fact it felt softer than metal too, more like the smooth surface of a polished bone. She blinked in shock as the three inches of dulled dagger began to pulse against her, sending thrums of energy through her chest and almost making her heart feel like it was shivering.

With every pulse, she felt a mellowing within herself, which made her realize just how much the demon blood had ramped her up and made her more aggravated than normal. She felt some odd physical shifts as well, her nails returning to normal with an itchy burning feeling, her ears irritating and stinging, and her cheeks itching. Even more welcomed was the sensation as she immediately felt the spring of spirit energy within herself once again now that it was no longer buried under the scorching lava of demon's blood that had been bubbling up within her.

"Hey, those stripes on your cheeks are gone!" Shippō announced with a perky voice, grinning.

"Really?" She asked while she lightly touched her face, glad that she once again looked like herself.

Inuyasha didn't look too pleased, in fact he had a downright sour look on his face, but Kagome didn't spare any time wondering what had made him so unhappy. She was much too happy and excited and with a fervent thank you to Totosai she scooped up her bow and arrows and dashed out the door and headed to the nearest little copse of trees. She was closely followed by all her comrades, and soon they had left the burned area around Totosai's house.

With everyone watching and urging her on, she drew an arrow from her back and took aim. She, and all of her friends, whooped with joy when she shot the arrow just fine and felled the tree that she had chosen with a blast of her normal pink hued spirit energy.

And so, they all returned back to Kaede with high spirits, which was where they had been headed to, to begin with. Only Inuyasha seemed to be in a bit of a bad mood, and no amount of questioning ever yanked an answer out of him.

Despite the pleasantness of Inuyasha's bad attitude, the trip home didn't take very long at all, and soon they were rejoicing with the elder priestess, who nearly seemed to be in tears when she saw Kagome come back safe and sound and healed.

The next day, Kagome went back through the well, sneaking away early in the day to try and avoid an argument with Inuyasha.

"Kagome! Where do you think you're going?!"

She flinched and whirled around as she heard the loud accusation, knowing exactly who had made it. "Uh…Inuyasha! Oh! I…I, uh, thought you were still asleep! Ah heh, heh, I hope I didn't wake you?" She stuttered as she carefully eased backwards towards the well.

"You're not going home are you? Because if that's what you're thinking, then you're dead wrong. You only just healed! And besides, now that you _are_ healed, we have more jewel hunting to do! We haven't found any shards in months!"

She winced in guilt. "Eh, right. I know that. But, uh, I need to visit my family and let them know I'm okay. So, just one day alright? I'll come back this evening, I promise."

"Nothin' doin'."

He started stalking towards her, the obvious intent in his eyes being to catch her and drag her back to the village, which she knew from experience he was perfectly capable and willing to do.

"…sorry." She muttered, and then louder she said firmly, "Sit!"

He did the predictable face plant, and Kagome went butt first into the well, ungracefully since she had backed into it a little sooner than she had expected.

As always, the plan to go home was accompanied by troubles. This time, in the form of a test which she had been unaware of.

"Say what?!"

"Yeah sis, your friends stopped by earlier to ask me to remind you that midterms were coming up. They were really worried too. Not to mention mom had received some phone calls from your teachers saying that if you don't pass the midterms, you'll have to redo your whole senior year."

"You're kidding right?" Her voice was weak as she sunk to her knees in front of her younger brother, who looked very sympathetic and also kind of freaked out, like he wanted to help but had no idea how to.

When he shook his head she very nearly started crying right then and there, but saved the waterworks through sheer force of will, knowing it would only make him feel bad. Once she was alone in her room though, she indulged in a few heartfelt tears, before desperately scrounging around for any sort of notes she could get her hands on, even calling her friends to see if she could borrow theirs.

And so commenced a full day of intensive studying, and the thought of going back to the feudal era, and her promise to Inuyasha, flew right out of her head along with it.

Inuyasha, of course, did not forget, and he spent the day pacing back and forth in front of the well, grumbling and sulking the entire time. When she didn't return that evening, and night fell, he spat, "Yeah right, 'return this evening,' Sure!" Sarcasm dripped heavily from his tone. "This just ain't gonna fly Kagome, not this time."

It was no surprise to the others, who had been watching nearby, when the white haired half demon went diving into the well.

Meanwhile Kagome was in the middle of a panic attack. None of her friends had notes they could share with her, and so she was left to pour over the books hopelessly, nearly tearing out her frazzled hair. She was just glad that the necklace that was always around her neck now prevented her from probably accidentally clawing her scalp or cutting her hair. She typically didn't sleep with it on, but she'd have to when she was here at her house. Of course that wasn't a problem since she wasn't planning to sleep tonight.

"Gah! Why doesn't this stupid thing make any sense?! It's all gibberish!" She screamed as the math symbols squiggled across the page in front of her eyes, dancing mockingly to tease her.

"What's wrong Kagome? Having problems?" A silky, pissed voice said right behind her head, scaring the ever living daylight out of her.

She flinched so badly that her butt made a 12 inch gap between it and the seat as she became temporarily airborne, a shriek leaving her mouth. "Inuyasha! What are you doing here!?"

"Coming to collect you. You're late."

"Well I found out I have a test tomorrow, and a major one at that, so there's no way I can return tonight."

"Kagome…" He growled warningly, not pleased in the slightest.

"I'm not moving." She growled back just as menacingly, her nerves tight enough to cause her to act even more temperamental than usual.

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

At her tone Inuyasha paused, coming to a halt and rising from his slightly crouched position. He had rarely heard that tone from her, and it always indicated the utmost severity. He now knew that there was absolutely no way he was gonna win this fight, but that didn't mean he was going to trust her to come back on her own after the test.

"Fine. But after that test you're coming back with me."

She nodded, her mind obviously already reabsorbed by the books all laid out in front of her in a splayed, scattered, incomprehensible mess.

As the minutes passed and the evening started edging into early night, Inuyasha quickly lost his already sparse patience and began hovering behind Kagome, reading the gibberish that made no sense to him over first one shoulder and then the other. He couldn't actually make any sense of it of course, but it was moderately more interesting than sitting motionless on the bed and observing from there.

Mostly he was simply amused by the fact that he could feel Kagome's irritation beginning to escape her in waves and started hearing those little huffing sounds escape her mouth and chest. That only spurred him on and he pressed even closer, wanting to get more of a reaction. He was so damn bored, and a bored Inuyasha was not a nice Inuyasha.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

Kagome found it utterly impossible to concentrate. She could literally feel the heat of Inuyasha's presence behind her he was so close, and as he moved she felt the telltale little breezes ripple the air around her head. He would look over one shoulder, then the other, back and forth and back and forth, over and over, and she was about to lose it. His proximity was making her all sorts of tense, in all the wrong ways, her breathing and heart beat speeding up to an uncomfortable degree and her belly tightening. And then the rapid back and forth movements set her teeth on edge, irritating her on top of the frustration that the tenseness caused. Over all, it put her in a bad mood, and she couldn't help herself when she snapped at him.

"Inuyasha! Stop it!"

Her loud exclamation was interrupted by the young voice of her brother, who had come in a little earlier and had been delighted to find Inuyasha had shown up. "Come on Inuyasha! Leave her alone, she gets all cranky when she studies. Come with me! Come on!"

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief as Sota dragged Inuyasha away, chuckling as she heard him saying something about a bath.

Sure, Inuyasha took baths with Miroku all the time when there were hot springs available back in the feudal era, but she would pay good money to see him try and figure out a modern day bathroom. She doubted he particularly cared about bathing, and suspected that her little brother's ideation of him was going to make it quite awkward. Of course really, it was kind of deserved after the hard time he'd been giving her, and she couldn't help but feel a little justified in her snickering at the thoughts running through her head.

Then of course, she had to get back to studying, forcing all thoughts of a naked Inuyasha from her mind.

That only worked until the real, very naked, Inuyasha came tearing back into her room, dripping suds all over the place and screaming, "No! I am not going back in there! The water burned! Why the fuck was it so hot?!"

In any other circumstance, one where she wasn't trying to save her school career, and where Inuyasha was not naked, she would have found the situation funny enough to probably put her on the floor laughing her guts out. But under the current situation, she did not find it funny, and as she turned her head, ready to yell at him to stop distracting her, she caught a glimpse of his naked self and slammed her eyes closed, only grateful that at the very least the towel had covered his privates…

…mostly.

She had still caught a little peek of white fuzz and some pink skin that she knew wasn't like the skin on the rest of his body, but her eyes had slammed shut so fast she hadn't really been able to decipher it. She _had_ noted his very attractive body, but then again she had seen his upper half unclothed before on one or two occasions, so it didn't shock her too much. But the overload of TOO MUCH INUYASHA SKIN, that was dripping wet and glistening with soap bubbles nearly had her having a heart attack and a stroke simultaneously. She felt her heart try to escape through her mouth, apparently as freaked out about the situation as she was and trying to get to him all by itself, and her head suddenly felt like it was about to explode from all the hot blood that rushed to that location.

She responded with force and yelling, throwing random things and saying random things at the top of her lungs to get him to retreat, which eventually he did.

He came back in a moment later, clothed in his pants and his open white shirt, but it was obvious he hadn't rinsed off, based on the soap bubbles still sticking to him.

"You know that's going to feel terrible when it dries." Kagome managed to point out, keeping her gaze firmly down at her page in front of her.

He just grunted, apparently still ticked off at her for her "overreaction." Of course she didn't see it as such, since it seemed perfectly appropriate to her.

He sat on her bed, only to get scolded and told he would get soap and water on the sheets. He grumbled, but moved to the floor and sat there in silence for about an hour as he sulked. That was an hour of blessed studying, during which Kagome got barely anything done despite the peace and quiet. She was almost beginning to think that this was a hopeless situation, and that she simply shouldn't even bother studying since it was obvious she didn't know anything, when an odd sound filtered through the depressing gloom that had settled in her mind.

She slowly turned her head to ascertain what the heck was making such an odd, but strangely familiar sound, and was greeted with the site of Inuyasha scratching himself, using the nails on both hands and feet alternatively. He had left long red welts all over his chest and every exposed bit of skin she could see, and by his scrunched up expression, it was clear to see that he was very uncomfortable. She stared at him silently for a long moment before he finally noticed her attention and sent a glare her way.

"What?!" He asked hotly.

"I told you the soap would itch."

He just growled and resumed scratching.

With a deep sigh Kagome stood, popping her back and stretching as she did so, and then slowly walked over to the miserable dog-demon. She grabbed his white sleeve and yanked. "Come here." She grumbled and led him down the hall.

She met some resistance outside the bathroom. "Nu-uh, no way Kagome, not gonna happen."

"Oh stop being such a big baby, Inuyasha. I'll fix it so the water won't burn you."

He stiffened at her taunt and with a large sniff of displeasure he walked stiff legged into the bathroom. She followed with a muffled laugh, amused by how easy it was to get him to do something, sometimes. She went over to the tub and filled it with warm water, and then gestured him over with her hand. "Try it with your hand and tell me if it's too hot."

He gingerly put the tips of his fingers in the water, and when he didn't jump back Kagome took it to mean that he was fine with it.

"Good. Well, you just rinse off all the soap and I'm gonna….Ack! Inuyasha what the heck are you doing?!" She gasped and whirled around, closing her eyes.

He had started getting undressed right in front of her, leaving her to avert her gaze and blush madly as she heard the tell-tale splish-splash of his getting into the bath. She was frozen with shock and embarrassment.

"What's your problem Kagome?"

"Wha-what's my problem?! What do you mean what's my problem?! What's _your_ problem?!"

He scoffed. "I don't have a problem. Far as I can see you're the one all tense and shit."

"That's cause you're naked!"

"Oh." There was a long pause. "Then why are you sticking around if it's making you so uncomfortable?"

"I-I-I…" She stuttered, not having a good explanation. She had no good excuse, there wasn't any reason for her to be in here, aside from the fact that she had simply been frozen with the shock of it. "You, you just startled me that's all!"

He just huffed and there was some splashing as he presumably went about rinsing himself.

"Well, I'm gonna go back to my room and study." Kagome announced and spun on her heel, calling back when she got to the doorway, "When you're done just pull that plug under the tap."

She got a grunt in return and took that to mean yes. So she once again found herself in her chair, in front of the books of math, and not understanding any of it while her head whirled with embarrassing thoughts. Inuyasha rejoined her after a while, and from the squeaking of the springs on her bed she gathered that he had sat down on it. This time she let him, and continued trying to work while she felt his stare beating her on the back of the head.

It was less distracting than his hovering around her, but it was still incredibly distracting and she found herself glancing over her shoulder at him every few minutes. After the fifth time or so Inuyasha growled, "Study Kagome."

She huffed and got back to it, grumbling under her breath about how ridiculous and rude and bossy and annoying and frustrating and irritating he was. Still, she couldn't help but find his presence oddly supportive despite the irritation. She supposed it was because he had been at her side during some of the most terrifying and stressful moments of her life and now she found him naturally comforting.

The next time when she sent a glance his way he had keeled over on his side and was sound asleep. She scowled, realizing he was taking up her entire bed almost. Sure, she hadn't planned on using it, but now that the night was creeping on she was starting to feel the exhaustion weighing at her, and found the idea of going to bed more and more appealing. Except now she would have to fight for bed space.

Still, she couldn't help but find him cute, his sleeping face so peaceful and his white fluffy ears twitching at his dreams. He was out, more solidly asleep than she had seen perhaps ever, and soon the temptation was too hard to resist. She crept over to squat down next to the bed, looking at him as his silvery eyebrows scrunched and then his ears twitched, one going up, the other down, and then they swiveled towards her. She froze, worried that he had noticed her. His ears quivered and stayed pointed in her direction, but he still seemed to stay sound asleep, soft snores escaping his chest and throat at regular intervals. It was rare that he slept soundly enough to snore, but she noticed that it was a surprisingly pleasant sound, not gross like some snoring could be. There was no wheezing or weird noises, just a soft raspy rumble on his exhales and it stayed rhythmic, almost lulling her to sleep right there where she was squatting on her haunches, unconsciously mimicking the common seated position of the man she was currently watching.

As she jerked herself upright again from where she had started to slump she glanced at the clock, noting just how late it actually was, and then contemplated her options. She felt like she might have gotten some of the material that she had so painstakingly looked up and studied from scratch, and figured that she was so tired by this point nothing else was going to stick anyways. So in the end she decided that it was time to try and get some sleep herself.

She quietly gathered up her pajamas, and tiptoed to the bathroom and then tiptoed back after she was ready for bed. The tricky part was going to be getting into bed. She could just wake him up and shove him off, or at least shove him over against the wall to make some room for her on the tiny twin bed. She approached, trying to figure out if there was some way to do this without disturbing him, since he was so darn sweet looking at the moment, making her heart melt.

She sighed as she took a closer look, noting his sprawled position on the bed, leaving very little room. It didn't help that he was on top of the covers, so her to actually getting _in_ bed would be literally impossible. It seemed that waking him up was going to have to be necessary. She wondered if he would vacate the bed if she woke him up, or if he would stay. Guiltily she hoped for the later, her softer feelings for him leaking out and making all the irritation from earlier melt away.

First things first, the trapped covers had to be freed.

She tiptoed over and grabbed the edge of the covers, giving an experimental tug. He grumbled a bit in his sleep but didn't wake up. She gave a firmer tug, actually getting the material to move down the bed until it stopped abruptly when it hit the part stuck under his body weight.

"Inuyasha, get off the covers…." She grumbled very softly, and gave a slow but very strong pull. She didn't want to yank and send him tumbling into the wall, but she wanted him off.

Eventually, with a lot of effort on her part, a surprising amount given how light of a sleeper he usually was, he finally grunted and shifted. The slight movement was enough to get the covers to move, and as they moved he moved more, grumbling all the while. He fussed and grumbled, but eventually he seemed to sleepily figure out what was going on and with a hand and foot he shoved the irritatingly moving material out from under him.

So now, Kagome had all the covers off the bed, but he was still taking up all the space. She sighed and tossed the covers back on the bed, over Inuyasha this time, and tried to hold back her laughter as he snuggled down under the material, rolling up into a ball until only his white ears were peeking out from the top of the covers.

At this point she was over being subtle, he was proving difficult to waken anyways. So she simply got in bed, trying not to sit on anything important of his. She grabbed the covers and slid under them, studiously ignoring the way her heart was pounding in her chest. He really was taking up a lot of room, and so she pushed an elbow into his back, which was facing her, to try and get him to move over. She was half-on half-off the bed. She had managed to squeeze most of her body on, though her hip and shoulder felt dangerously like they might be over the edge, and one arm and leg were completely off.

"Move over!" She whispered, getting just a tad frustrated with him now, her moods as mercurial as always. She pushed her entire side into his back, giving a rather firm shove with her whole body to try and force him over. That got a reaction, and before she knew what had happened he had rolled over and was wrapping an arm around her, dragging her fully onto the rather small bed with him and cuddling her into his body.

She gasped, flinching and tensing up at the sudden embrace, wondering what the hell he was thinking. Was he making a move on her?

No, he was still asleep. A fact Kagome quickly became aware of as he nuzzled his nose into her neck, and promptly began snoring against her. She was on her back with his arm thrown over her and pulling her into him as much as possible given her position. It took her a long time to relax from her frozen up statue mode, but eventually the exhaustion and his soft snores lulled her into sleepiness once again. She slowly drifted off, and at some point, half-asleep, she turned on her side and was aware that he snuggled her even closer, wrapping his whole body around hers. The warmth made her fall even faster asleep.

The next day she woke in a panic, flew out of bed as she remembered that she had a test, got tangled up in the sheet and Inuyasha and both of them fell to the ground in a bundle of covers and cussing.

The rest of the morning didn't go any easier for her and it seemed the entire universe was out to get her as she burned her toast, got cold water for her shower, ran out of toothpaste, and then realized she was running late and had just missed her bus. Inuyasha was nice enough to run her to school, for which she thanked him hastily as she ran inside, slipping on a wet, freshly mopped floor and then nearly running into the classroom door at her speed.

She only just made it and sat gasping and wheezing in her seat as she abruptly realized that she had forgotten her number 2 pencils and panicked. Thankfully one of her friend lent her one of theirs.

Then, of course, there was the test itself. She barely remembered some of the material, and even stooped so low as to glance around at other people's tests. It was sheer luck that kept her from getting caught pulling that stupid move, especially since she wasn't exactly good at cheating. By the time the day was over, she was exhausted, cranky, and out of sorts, but at least felt that she had passed … probably.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hello all. Sorry for the delay, I was out of town.

Hope everyone enjoys this chapter!A little bit of fluff a little bit of story development. More fun times coming up! Stay tuned!

Thank you everyone who gave me such lovely reviews, cake and cookies for everyone! Reviews get my brain all happy and ready to write more. :3

See you all soon in the next chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

Naturally after her test was over she got dragged back to the feudal times, courtesy of one Inuyasha.

They once again began the quest for jewel shards, heading in any random direction in the hopes they would run across one. It was on one such venture when they came across a river, which was a fairly normal occurrence. It was the large, creepy peaches floating down the river that perturbed everyone.

"Human faced peaches?"

"Ew." Kagome shuddered, edging behind Inuyasha.

He sent an amused glance behind his shoulder at her. "Scared of a little fruit Kagome?"

She scowled. "No. It's just…creepy."

"It looks like they're floating downriver. They must be coming from a demon tree somewhere that way."

"Demon tree?" Shippō asked Miroku in response to his observation.

They all decided to head in that direction, and on the way demon trees were explained to both Kagome and Shippō. They were trees who had consumed humans, large amounts of them, and had become evil. This one, to produce so much of the dang fruit, most likely possessed a jewel shard.

They quickly came to a cliff, and judging from the fact that they had to carefully avoid being beaned on the heads by the massive produce raining from above, the tree most likely existed somewhere at the top of the precipice. "Okay, let's get this over quick." Inuyasha grunted, launching himself up the cliff face, much more abruptly than was usual.

"Hey! Wait up!" Kagome called, highly perturbed by the abrupt departure.

They scrambled to follow, rushing even more once Kagome realized that the reason for Inuyasha's hastiness was due to the moon being new tonight. Hopefully he would be able to take care of the problem quickly, before the sun set, otherwise there were going to be all sorts of problems.

When they finally reached the top, with the assistance of Shippō's levitating pink-ness since Kilala and Sango had taken about a week off to go visit their home, Inuyasha was no-where to be found, which was a very bad sign indeed and frightened Kagome much more than she wanted to admit. So, they promptly started hunting for him.

Naturally, their group being magnets for the strange and bizarre, they quickly found themselves shrunk and stuck inside a mini village/farm situation, although none of them knew exactly how they had ended up there. Naturally the first order of business was to get themselves free, so they went in search of the walls. Once the walls were found, some hijinks involving flames, hairspray, and big rocks ensued, and a hole was punched through the weirdly painted blue wall. It was at this exact moment, when freedom was so close, that an enormous hand came down through the air and plucked Kagome from the situation, despite her kicking and screaming.

Naturally she was utterly terrified. There's not very much you can do when you're that tiny, and an enormous person is holding you tightly in their fist. No matter how hard she struggled, the man, who looked to be enormous in more ways than one, carried her off, seeming to not pay any attention whatsoever to the way she yelled and protested and kicked and squirmed. Even though it didn't seem to be making much of a difference, she kept it up simply out of principal, and by the time she was dropped into a bath, which felt like an ocean to her, she was exhausted. She was so tired in fact, that keeping herself afloat was rather difficult, and she had to rely on a leaf of some sort that was thankfully drifting by in the water. The leaf was so big to her tiny self, that she was able to drag herself up onto it and ride on top like it was a little boat.

She sat there, panting and vaguely seasick as she watched the giant bustling about in the room. He came back with a handful of herbs, ones which, as soon as they entered the water, made a scent that cause Kagome's head to spin. She groaned, having the distinct feeling that she had felt like this before, and she drooped, unable to hold herself up as the scent grew stronger and stronger. Eventually she simply passed out, despite fighting with everything she had to keep her eyes open.

Blackness took her and she knew nothing for an inestimable amount of time.

The next time she opened her eyes, it was to a throbbing headache and the scent of peaches and herbs and warm water. Her eyes slowly peeled open at her command, but only with a great deal of effort. The herbs had weakened somewhat, enough that she could now wake and be somewhat aware of her surroundings, but not enough that she could really move all that much.

"What is it with me being stuffed into herbal baths…?" She slurred. Groaning as she levered her head up off the lip of the quite large tub with effort.

At least it seemed she had regrown back to her normal size, only it appeared that she had done so with a distinct lack of clothing. She shuddered at the thought that that disgusting man with the sharp teeth had undressed her and done who-knows-what to her unconscious body. She felt downright sick to her stomach and contemplated throwing up before deciding it would not be a really good idea to do, since she still couldn't really move and really didn't want to spend any length of time sitting in her own puke.

She had just managed to somewhat sit up, only with so much effort that every muscle in her body shook with the strain, when the door suddenly came crashing to the ground. She gasped and did her best to cover her breasts with her arms, which she did manage to accomplish; only it resulted with her falling back into the tub and nearly braining herself on the side. Her head slid under the water and she came frighteningly close to inhaling a mouthful of the peach water, which she was pretty sure was not a good idea, when a hand snagged her behind her neck and levered her head back up out of the water.

She gasped, wheezing and sputtering and coughing as she got over the temporary panic, making sure to keep her arms crossed over herself protectively the whole time. When she managed to once again open her eyes, it was to look up into the greatly concerned face of a fully human Inuyasha, his long black hair falling in curtains to either side of her, the tips trailing in the water.

"Kagome! Are you okay? What has he done to you?!" And then he glanced down and noted that she was naked, turned bright red and slammed his eyes shut, though he kept the hand under her head. "Holy shit! Why are you naked?!"

"That's what I would like to know…" She mumbled, her voice weak and obviously drugged.

Inuyasha slitted one eye and kept it firmly on her face. "What's wrong? Can you move? And seriously, why are you naked? Where are your clothes? Did he do something to you?!"

"The herbs…in the water…they made me dizzy. I passed out and woke up naked, so I don't know what happened. Actually, you should get out of here, those herbs are going to affect you too since you're human."

He nodded, already looking a little unsteady on his feet, and he pulled her further out of the water with the hand behind her head and his other hand now under her shoulder. He released her head to let it fall back against his chest as he grabbed her with both hands under her armpits and levered her out of the tub. Kagome figured he was probably not looking, and so she unwrapped her arms from around herself and helped by bracing herself with her hands on the edge of the tub. After an awkward moment, she finally slid free, the skin on her back rather raw and abraded from the edge of the bath, and then her butt slapped against the ground and she fell back against Inuyasha, who sputtered with embarrassment.

He helped prop her up with one hand, and she turned to see what he was doing, but it became obvious when his red fire rat robe was draped over her shoulders. "Here, put this on. Cover yourself up… _please_." He nearly sounded like he was begging at this point, and Kagome had to hold back a laugh at how much more expressive he typically was on the new moon.

Now that she was out of the water, she had regained some mobility, and was able to clumsily get her arms through the arm holes, with a little assistance from an Inuyasha who's head was turned away. Once she was done, she went lax, clutching the material to her and panting with exertion. He hissed and managed to catch her, wrapping his arms around her securely and hugging her almost from behind. It seemed that for now at least, they were safe. Maybe they could hide out here in the basement for a while longer.

Slowly, Kagome became aware of a wet, sticky feeling, and she glanced down to see blood staining the front of her temporary clothes. "Inuyasha?! Are you bleeding?" She gasped, turning and looking at him. Sure enough there was an alarmingly large red stain on his white kosode, and not just one, but many.

"It's nothing." He grunted, before keeling over and passing out.

Kagome felt a large bead of sweat drop down her forehead at the incongruity of the situation, his statement being so quickly followed by the opposite reaction, and she turned, quickly leaning over him.  
"Inuyasha! Hey! Are you okay?! Stupid question…of course you aren't, you just passed out after all…"

She frantically checked on his wounds, relieved to find that only one or two of the many red stained injuries seemed to be deep, but she was still quite concerned about those. Normally they would be nothing to him, but in his human state they might very well be fatal. She hurried to do what she could, which wasn't much besides apply pressure to help stop the bleeding. And that was why Inuyasha woke to find his shirt opened and Kagome pressing her palms to his bare skin.

He winced under her and she gasped, noting his new state of awareness. "Hey! You passed out! You've lost too much blood Inuyasha!"

He didn't seem to hear her at first, his eyes sort of glazed over. The black irises glanced down at where she was touching him and then back up, meeting her eyes with a semi-glossy and unfocused look. It almost seemed like he was a little out of it, like he hadn't fully woken up or something, and that thought was confirmed when he mumbled, "Kagome…what are you…?"

She was taken aback by the look and his softly spoken words, the tone so completely different from what she was used to that she scrambled to remember what she had only just been saying a second before. "I-I um, y-you're bleeding…."

He blinked and glanced down again, his eyes finally clearing and then softened. One of his hands cupped over the top of hers, and she couldn't help but compare their fingers, for once hers being clawed and his looking like normal human ones. Both her necklaces had been taken when she shrunk, and so she was now in demonic form.

He lifted her hand away from his chest where she had been pressing to stop the blood from leaking out of his body and then shockingly raised the crimson tainted skin of her palm to his mouth. She watched, mouth gaping as he lightly licked her palm, almost like a dog would lick the blood off of a wound, and then he pressed a gentle kiss to her skin. It seemed he still possessed dog-like habits, even when in this form.

"Thank you Kagome…you always worry about me and care for me. I know it must get really exhausting, but it makes me feel…warm to know you care."

"W-warm?" She stuttered, not sure what he was getting at, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Happy. It makes me happy."

"Oh…I'm glad." She whispered, a small smile creeping across her lips, and she glanced away, embarrassed.

After a long pause he sat up and she moved back, hurrying to make sure that his fire rat robe was securely tied around her since she hadn't been too focused on that earlier and she became aware that it was partially open. As she busied herself with fussing over the tie, Inuyasha spoke again, his words making her fingers freeze.

"Kagome? Why do you still care enough to try and take care of me? I'm a pain in the ass, I never let you tend to my wounds, I constantly push you away…why do you still keep trying?"

She sucked in a breath. "What the….? Why are you asking me all of a sudden? Now isn't exactly the time for this…"

"Yeah. But I still want to know."

She looked away. "I…you're my friend Inuyasha. Of course I care about you."

"Oh."

Her head whipped around and she stared at him, shocked by the distinctly disappointed sound of the one word. She knew she wasn't imagining it, and one look at his face confirmed it, his dark eyes downcast and a furrow between his black eyebrows proving that he wasn't particularly pleased with her answer. Was he hoping for something more? Did that mean he wanted more than just friendship?

Spurred on by a slight desperation and the surging of hope that made her chest resonate with the sound of her pounding heart, she hurried to say, "You're more than that though…more than just a friend to me."

His head jerked back around and his wide eyes met hers. At the sudden realization of what she said she flushed, abruptly panicking and embarrassed by the unplanned confession. "I-I mean I know you have Kikyo and everything, so I'm not expecting anything, but I just-I still want to be with you, even if it's only as a friend."

Her sputtering was brought to an abrupt halt as Inuyasha brought his lips to hers. Her eyes grew wide as saucers, but weren't really seeing anything since they weren't focused and his face was much too close for her to see anything anyways. The brief kiss lasted for no longer than a second, the sensation of his warm lips registering in her mind almost after the fact. It was a brush, just a light brush of skin against skin, and she hadn't even been able to really feel what it felt like to have a pair of lips pressed to hers since it had been so light. He hadn't really kissed her, hadn't pressed his mouth against her with enough force to really be called a kiss, it was almost more of a feather-light nuzzle that brushed his mouth, chin, and nose against hers very gently before he was retreating. All she had really gathered, physically, was a sense of warmth, breath, and softness with a hint of rough chapped skin snagging lightly against her own travel roughened lips.

She was left feeling unbalanced, that one simple gesture making her nearly as dizzy as the herbal bath had. _What the heck did it mean? Was Inuyasha doing his own confession with that action? Was he saying that he liked her too?_ That was the only thing that made sense to Kagome, and she simultaneously felt like bursting into happy, confused, relieved tears, or laughing out of the pure warmth and hope that filled her to bursting, or passing out from utter shock. At the same time she couldn't help but be insecure and scared, worried that maybe it didn't mean what she thought it meant, although it seemed highly unlikely.

The moment was broken when the sound of thudding footsteps echoed from the stairs, and Inuyasha's expression immediately changed as he glared fiercely in that direction. They both got to their feet, slightly unsteadily in Kagome's case since either the almost-kiss or the remnants of the bath were making her slightly wobbly. Thankfully the steps didn't make their way all the way into the room, seeming to come down the stairs and pass through into another hall near the doorway, leading the sage away from them. Silently they made their way out, climbing the stairs as quietly as possible. They managed to find the storage room, staying away from the magical table of shrinkage, and Kagome was able to find a crappy old bow and arrows. Hers had to be here somewhere, probably along with Miroku's staff, but there were so many weapons, and they simply didn't have the time to do a full investigation at the moment. Once day had broken and Inuyasha had enough strength to defeat the enemy they could come back to gather their weapons.

Unfortunately that plan didn't pan out, because as soon as they were out in the open courtyard, staring up at the massive peach tree, the sage made another appearance. How he managed to sneak up on them they didn't know, and didn't really care. All that mattered now was lasting until dawn broke.

Naturally Inuyasha charged into battle with little heed to his human body, as always seeming to forget its limitations despite Kagome's protests. She winced as he was slammed to the ground underneath a strangely stony looking version of the sage.

"Are those my jewel shards?!" She gasped, noting that the embedded crystals in his belly had increased.

"They're mine now!" The big oaf laughed, smacking his stony belly. "There's no way you can win with my impenetrable skin!"

The grandiose statement held true unfortunately, as Inuyasha consistently failed to make even a tiny scratch, while the big brute smacked him around like a volley ball.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome gasped and rushed to help him peel himself off the bark of the overgrown demonic tree, where he had landed after the last blow.

With her hand behind his head as it was, she felt the stickiness matting his black hair and knew he was receiving head traumas now on top of everything else. This couldn't go on for much longer without his frail human body expiring on them.

Inuyasha shrugged her off as usual, intent on the battle, although he seemed to do it a bit more gently.

 _This has got to stop; Inuyasha is going to die if this beating keeps on for much longer!_ She thought to herself, and grabbed up the bow she had dropped. She loaded an arrow and charged it with the energy she had access to, which was the demonic powers surging through her. The arrow began to glow hot yellow, a color that she had never associated with her own powers but that she had seen trailing from Inuyasha's claws.

Before it could be tested however, the bow snapped with an audible crack, splintering into a hundred pieces and sending wood slivers into her hands. The pain barely registered, since she was too busy cursing the old bow. As Inuyasha was thrown to the ground near her once again, the sage raised his staff with the clubbed head obviously ready to deal a finishing blow to Inuyasha's skull. Kagome acted on instinct. Her borrowed bow was useless, and so she tossed it aside. Choosing instead to fling herself in his direction she managed to insert herself in between the two combatants. In desperation, and perhaps an instinct buried within her, she slashed her claws through the air in the manner she had seen Inuyasha do countless times.

To everyone's surprise she actually managed to gather a little firepower to her fingertips and a golden light sprung from her claws, raking through the air and knocking aside the swiftly descending weapon. However, the sage was pretty damn strong, and he quickly swung again, not even fazed. The blow sent both Inuyasha and Kagome tumbling across the ground. That wouldn't have been much of a problem, except for the fact that they were right on the edge of the cliff. Somehow, while being tossed tits over toes Inuyasha managed to give Kagome a shove, while simultaneously grabbing onto the giant's leg. The sage was yanked off balance and sent tumbling over the edge with the two of them, while Kagome was able to snag some roots on the edge of the cliff, since her momentum had been slowed by Inuyasha's shove in the opposite direction. Inuyasha however fell out of sight to Kagome's horror.

"Kagome! Here, grab my hand!" She looked up to see Miroku leaning over the edge of the cliff, reaching out his hand towards her. In a daze she managed to grasp his proffered palm, and he helped heft her upwards, drawing her over the cliff. She landed on her knees, numb.

"Where's Inuyasha!?" Shippō asked.

"He-he fell…" she stuttered and then suddenly jerking back out of her shocked state of numbness, she spun on her knees and leaned over the cliff looking down. "Inuyasha!" She bellowed, staring so hard into the mist she felt her eyes start to ache.

As they watched the mist turned a slight rosy tone, and Kagome looked up at the horizon, noting how it was starting to glow. The sun just barely peeked above the craggy line of mountains. "It's dawn! Don't worry Kagome, Inuyasha will be fine." Shippō said, patting her on the back with his tiny hand.

"If he fell before her though, the sun was still below the horizon line. He was still human." Miroku pointed out, his voice solemn.

"That stupid Inuyasha! How dare he go and die! Inuyasha! If you die on me I'm going to drag you back by your fluffy white ears!" Kagome bellowed into the mist, sounding angry when really she was fighting the urge to cry. "He can't have…there's no way he's dead. It's not possible." She mumbled.

Really, she was still in a state of shock. The pain that was slowly thrumming harder and harder within her soul made it more and more difficult to breath, leaving her gasping. She didn't have the will to get up off her knees, and stayed kneeling there on the edge of that precipice, looking desperately into the mist for any bit of red or white that would indicate Inuyasha had survived.

"That idiot…" she sniffled.

"Hey, I'm gone for only a few minutes and I find you saying shit like that? Geez, Kagome…."

She whirled, looking up to see Inuyasha standing behind them, his arms crossed over his chest, his hip cocked, and his foot tapping on the ground. His raised eyebrow was once again a slightly darker shade of his once again silver white hair and his glaring eyes were golden. She went from kneeling to launching herself at him with a cry, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him as tightly to her as she possibly could to reassure herself that he was real and alive.

"You-you dummy! You scared me! I thought you were dead!"

He sputtered, taken aback by the sudden embrace and once again uncomfortable with tender emotions. He flushed, not making much sense as he tried to soothe the crying woman wrapped around him, awkwardly holding his arms out at his sides. Hesitantly, when she showed no sign of releasing him, he lowered his hands and lightly rested them on her back.

She almost wasn't aware of his awkwardness, too consumed by the solid feel of his warm body. She was so relieved at the proof of life that she squeezed him too hard and if he weren't a demon he would have had that life squeezed right out of him again. She was still in demonic state herself, and so her strength was enhanced, making the embrace quite snug for Inuyasha. He didn't seem to be perturbed about it though, aside from the simple awkwardness of it all, and that was what was causing him to stutter and blush like a schoolgirl.

She almost didn't notice when he hugged her back, but she slowly became aware of it, the pressure of his hands against her back, the warmth of his arms around her instead of hovering awkwardly at his sides. Naturally as soon as she noticed, it brought back to her mind that almost kiss from before, and she was suddenly blushing seven or eight different shades of red and fighting against a knee-jerk reaction of shoving away from him again. Despite her embarrassment, she longed to hug him for just a little bit longer…just a little…bit…longer….

The moment was broken when a polite cough cracked through the air like a bomb, sending a snap of reality whipping across Kagome's already sensitive nerves, and she yelped and jerked away from Inuyasha, flushing even hotter and awkwardly fiddling with her hair, nails, and anything else her fingers could twiddle to try and pretend like she hadn't been embracing Inuyasha like a lover in front of all their friends (minus Sango, who was still off doing who-knows-what).

"If you two are done…we should probably gather our belongings that were scattered when we shrunk?" Miroku pointed out.

Kagome stiffly nodded, and hustled off to locate her bow, arrows, and the fang dagger necklace.

"Here, put this back on." Inuyasha muttered, reaching out to stall her in her nearly blind march back to the weird temple / sage compound. He handed her the chain with a jewel shard hanging from it.

"Oh! You got it back from him?"

"Duh…"

She snorted at his predictably rude comeback. While his rudeness had been quite the turn-off, she had almost grown fond of his brash, crude sense of sarcastic humor. "Right. Thanks Inuyasha."

He nearly stumbled and tripped over thin air at her smile. That only made her laugh again, since she figured it was probably because he had expected her to get mad at him. The thought was confirmed as he gave her a highly inquisitive and curious look, staring a hole into the side of her head on the way back down the rather narrow path to the structure they had been in only a short while ago.

Once inside they all split up to find their equipment. Kagome found her necklace under the box containing the mini-village, which they still had no clue what to do about, Miroku found his staff in the boxes of weapons that leaned against the walls, and Shippō stumbled across Kagome's bow and arrows in the corner. Inuyasha had already recovered his sword earlier, so he didn't have anything to do aside from shadowing Kagome and pestering her, which is what he proceeded to do with his normal amount of zeal.

As soon as they gathered all their things back together they left.

That whole day, all Kagome could think about was what had happened the night before. It didn't help that she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, and so she was feeling rather fuzzy and not herself to start with. Add in the confusion from everything that had happened, and you got a very distracted Kagome. It was mainly that sort-of-kiss that had her unbalanced. She kept running it through her head over and over again, trying to cling to the feeling of such brief warmth, the feel of his breath and the sweetness of the light touch, the butterflies in her stomach, and the pounding of her heart. It somehow didn't feel real, like maybe she had just dreamed it all up … she couldn't figure it out. If he was going and doing things like kissing her, then that meant he at least liked her right?

She knew she loved him with all her heart, and now she had evidence that said he liked her more than a friend, but where did that leave them? He still had Kikyo, and she was positive that he loved the other priestess more than he liked her. So what was she to do? He would always choose Kikyo over her if forced into a choice…and she couldn't enter into a relationship with him knowing that. And yet…it was so tempting, so, so tempting to just act on her feelings and say to hell with the pain she knew would be coming. It was a quandary, and not one that was easy to figure out even on a fully awake, working mind. As Kagome was now, she was helplessly befuddled, and found herself mulling it over and squashing it back and forth like a mushy mess of crap that was only getting messier the more she fiddle with it.

So by the time night had once again rolled around, she had a raging headache and was in a truly foul mood, snapping at anyone who had the misfortune of saying something to her. She was quick to apologize and explained it away with the excuse of having a nasty headache, but she couldn't help being cranky. So everyone pretty much left her alone as the nighttime camp was set up, a fire lit and all the bedrolls laid out.

She lay down and flopped her arm over her eyes, totally over everything and everyone and especially done with her thoughts that ping ponged her brain until this stupid headache made her feel like her head would split open and send her marbles everywhere. When she heard Inuyasha sit next to her she growled softly, so confused and sore and tired that it turned into the predictable aggravation directed at the typical target. In this case it really was Inuyasha's fault she was so miserable. The kiss, _if you could really call it that_ , she thought sourly, had made her so happy at the time, and yet now it was causing such perturbation and confusion.

What exactly should she do now?

"Kagome?"

She jerked at the unusually soft voice, peeking out from behind her arm and peering hesitantly at the normally loud half-demon. "What?"

"…never mind." He grunted and closed his eyes, seeming to settle into his normal seated sleeping position…right next to her.

She huffed, not sure she wanted to know what he was going to say. That was the other thing, if she had to wait until the new moon to get anything out of him, a relationship would get very frustrating indeed. Kisses and cuddles only one day a month? Nuh-uh.

She rolled over with a grunt and attempted valiantly to get some sleep.

It didn't work.

After probably several hours, thought it was impossible to tell since there were no watches here in the feudal era, Kagome groaned and sat up, putting her hand to her pounding head. She simply couldn't sleep. So, with nothing else to do, she stood and made her way to the nearby stream. She had seen a beautiful little pool earlier only a short distance away from the campsite, and it even had a nice little waterfall. Maybe the cool water would help to calm her nerves…maybe.

And so she found herself standing at the edge of the pool, and since she was simply too frustrated to mess with anything, she just waded into the water with her clothes still on. She was only wearing a white sleeping robe that Kaede had given her anyways, it didn't matter if it got wet. She had taken to wearing a few of the contemporary clothing items, mainly for comfort and also because they were available. And so she waded into the water in her white robe, at first tensing at the cool water and then relishing it as it thoroughly distracted her busy brain. She waded in to her waist and then took a deep breath and submerged entirely.

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

He had followed her, concerned for her safety as always and also simply just curious as to what she could possibly be doing in the middle of the night. He followed her all the way to the pool of water, and figured that she was planning on bathing, so he was in the process of turning away when he happened to notice that she was wading in without taking off her clothing. That was so weird that he stopped and turned back around, watching in shock as she waded into the water, seemingly unperturbed about her sleeping robe getting wet.

Then she slid out of sight, seeming to dip beneath the water so suddenly that Inuyasha started forward, frightened that she had been dragged down by something, thoughts of a demon somehow luring her out here streaking through his mind in a chaotic manner. He came to a screeching halt however as she burst back out from the surface, flinging her head back to get the wet hair out of her face and sending water droplets raining through the air to be caught glistening in the moonlight. The sight was so stunning that he simply became incapable of movement, freezing on the spot. The wet fabric clung to her, and it was naturally at that moment that a cloud removed itself from over the skimpy moon and stars and a bit of moonlight hit her, illuminating her and the pool and turning it into some sort of magical place.

She opened her eyes, and Inuyasha's demon eyesight caught the sight of a few droplets of water falling from her long, wet black eyelashes. She was looking up, at the night sky and the stars and the moon, and a tiny smile graced her lips for a short moment. It disappeared far too soon and was replaced by the same slightly tense, pensive expression that had marred her face the whole day. He had the sinking feeling that it was his fault she looked that way.

She didn't seem to notice him, thankfully, and turned towards the small waterfall, walking towards it and strangely parking herself right underneath it. She found a rock and sat upon it, before bending one knee and resting her forehead against it, while letting the water pour over her. It hit her head, stroking her long black hair with enough pressure that it lay flat and snaked down over her shoulders in long silky tendrils. The normally poofy, curly mess now looked like black silk and pooled in the creases she made with her raised leg, in her lap, and in the crook of her arm. The white robe she was wearing was pressed even more against her skin, though it was thick enough that it didn't exactly turn totally transparent the way white cloth sometimes did. It did however expose the graceful lines and curves of her body, which Inuyasha couldn't help but appreciate. He wasn't bothered by the bunching up and added curves, mainly in her stomach region, that were caused by the curled up position she was in, although he knew she herself probably would have been horrified if she had noticed. He still didn't understand why she seemed so perturbed by that sort of thing, since women in his time were considered even more beautiful the rounder and curvier they were. He thought she was beautiful, and had always thought so the moment he laid eyes on her, despite having told her he thought Kikyo was prettier. He didn't truly believe that.

Kagome had all the right curves in all the right places, and seeing them had his heart pounding and certain things getting uncomfortable, to the point he had to readjust himself. However he did so almost absentmindedly, since the arousal was nearly a second thought. Most of his mind was simply stunned into silence by the beauty of her, and the strange magical quality of the scene he was witnessing. Somehow he felt as though he was trespassing on something almost sacred, something perhaps even intimate. She wasn't bathing, and yet it seemed that she was more vulnerable now than if she had been naked and cleansing herself. It was almost as if she was trying to cleanse her mind, not her body.

Yet despite that sense of not-supposed-to-be-there, he couldn't move away, and he remained there on the shoreline, in full view but unnoticed by her.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

The pounding of the water seemed to both sooth and aggravate her head, the coolness relaxing her aching muscles, and yet the pressure not feeling the best. Yet the sound and feel of it helped to drown out her thoughts, which was an enormous relief. She sat there for a long while, just soaking in the silence within her head.

Eventually though she raised her head and let the water splash over her face more for a second before standing. She could feel how the water plastered her robe to her, which wasn't exactly the most comfortable feeling in the world, but she didn't mind it overly much and she stood there a moment before turning to exit the waterfall. She was drawn up short though, when she saw a flash of white out of the corner of her narrowed eyes. Her head immediately swung in that direction and poked out further from the water so that she could more fully open her eyes without the risk of having water pouring into them. Sure enough, Inuyasha was standing on the bank of the pool, staring at her with a completely blank expression, almost as if he was dumbstruck.

She stood there for a long moment, watching him as he watched her, confused once again by him. She wasn't particularly self-conscious, though normally she would be, but she knew the robe would cover her, despite being plastered to her skin. Besides that, she found the way he was looking at her now to be impossible to ignore or dislike. He looked intoxicated almost, and that strangely made her feel equally drunk. She liked him looking at her like that…and perhaps it was because of the strangeness of it all, but she simply wasn't embarrassed. Perhaps it was because she was so tired, or maybe because it was the middle of the night.

After a long moment she moved from under the waterfall, drawn towards Inuyasha, and curious about why he was here in the first place and why he was watching her.

She slid off the rock she had been sitting on and lowered herself back into the pool, wading midway until the water was again at her waist. There she stood, and observed Inuyasha, who still looked dazed.

"Inuyasha? What are you doing?" She asked softly when he simply continued to stare.

He startled, as if woken from a dream, and to her amusement he flushed a rather surprisingly deep red. "I-I, um, I was worried about you." He stuttered, stammering around. He quickly added, "I mean…you-er… that, the uh…walking into the pool like that, with your clothes on and everything…I thought you'd been possessed or something."

"Oh, is that what you thought? So that's why you were watching me for so long?"

"B-wh-well, uh…y-yeah, why else would I…?"

She shrugged. "I don't know Inuyasha, that's why I'm asking you."

"I-I…Kagome…"

There was a long pause and his eyes met hers. The golden irises of his eyes seemed to glow in the semi-darkness under the trees at the bank of the pool, and he almost pinned her in place with how intensely he looked at her.

Then he swallowed and his eyes flashed off to the side as he shuffled uncomfortably. "So…uh…why are you in there?"

"I thought the cool water would help…"

"Help what?" He prodded, his eyes flicking back to meet hers once again in curiosity.

The moment seemed so still, so beautiful, so perfect in a weirdly magical way, and she found herself laying her thoughts bare for him to see before she could stop herself. "My mind, my thoughts, I can't stop thinking about last night and … you almost kissing me. I keep thinking that it means that you…like me…that you want to be with me. And I just don't know what to think anymore, Inuyasha, I don't know what to do. There are so many…complications, and I know it's just going to get harder."

She murmured it all softly, not wanting to break the peace of the moment, and yet her words seemed to break her instead. Just thinking about it made her sad and depressed and she found a few tears sneaking out of her eyes without her permission. As soon as she felt the warm tracks make their way down her cheeks she swiftly turned away just a little, wiping her eyes quickly to try and hide it.

She twitched when she heard the splashing sounds of Inuyasha wading in, and she was half-way turning back around when he grabbed her shoulders, turning her completely to face him.

"Don't cry! Please don't cry Kagome! You know I can't stand it!" He uttered, his voice both soft and urgent at the same time, full of emotion.

She huffed, embarrassed despite herself. "I'm not crying." She mumbled, keeping her head turned and facing down to hide her eyes under her sopping wet bangs. "It's just the water from the pond, nothing more."

"I can smell the salt Kagome, don't lie."

She had no response, so she just remained silent, closing her eyes and slumping a little in defeat.

He shook her by her shoulders. "Hey! Come on Kagome! Stop it would ya?!"

When that didn't work he put one of his hands under her chin and forced her to look at him. Her eyes widened, the wetness put on display as the shock opened her eyes. She hadn't expected him to be quite so intent on not having her cry.

He stared down into her face, his golden eyes intense. "Why are you crying?"

She frowned a little. "Why do you think? I'm confused! I don't know what to do, I don't really know how you feel. I don't know what's going to happen now. I don't even know if it would be better if I hadn't said anything at all!" She hiccupped, trying to remove her chin from his grip, but it was too strong. She couldn't budge her head and when she tried it only resulted in a stronger pressure being exerted. So she just looked off to the side, and repeated in a small, sad voice, "I'm confused, Inuyasha, and it hurts. So just…just tell me what you want from me. If you want to just be friends that's okay…but I need to know…."

There was a long poignant pause, and she closed her eyes and left it up to him, really unable to do anything else at that point. She had spilled her guts, told him everything basically, except for the fact that she loved him so deeply, and now it was up to him what he wanted to do with the information. If he wanted to stay friends then they would be friends, but if he wanted more he needed to say so right now, because she would go insane before making up her mind on the subject. She was almost hoping he would shut her down right here and now, make it a clean break so that everything could go back to normal and she could stop worrying about this. Yes it would hurt, and be awkward and embarrassing, but maybe it would be better than the uncertainty.

However that was not the answer she got. She instead received a very nonverbal answer in the form of a warm pair of lips landing solidly on hers. She flinched, not expecting it, but his grip on her face didn't let her back away. This was unlike the previous hesitant peck of an almost-kiss, this was a full kiss, with full lip exposure and pressure. And it didn't stop in a split second, he kept his mouth pressed to hers, and she had the time to assimilate in her mind what was happening, to fully realize that his lips were pressed against her lips and she could feel the warmth and softness along with the slightly rough texture of his slightly chapped skin, and when her lips parted against his in a surprised gasp she could feel the way her mouth moved against his. She could feel the way his mouth didn't just press against her accidentally, the way a mouth would be pressed against the inside of a mask or against something you were smelling really intently, but rather his lips were pursed ever so slightly, which shifted as he finished the kissing motion, his lips lying flat once again with the soft sound of his skin parting from hers. But he didn't pull away, he only repeated the motion, snuggling and nuzzling closer with his lips and chin and nose and face, closer to hers, and moved his lips against hers again, and again, in that same slight pursing motion, occasionally parting his lips to more comfortably fit against hers, which were still slightly parted from the previous gasp.

After the shock had slightly worn off, she was helpless to not respond to the kiss, having wanted it for so long that the desire to participate was more instinctually indulged in than given any active thought. She followed his lead, trying out the same sort of motion with her own lips, which garnered an immediate and positive response from him and he almost seemed to groan, ever so quietly, although that could have been her imagination. She didn't imagine the way he immediately pressed closer to her though, his grip on her shoulder shifting so that he wrapped that arm around her entirely and hugged her close, his lips pressing against hers even harder and more intently, occasionally nipping at her mouth almost with his. It truly was more dog-like than any kiss she had ever seen on a TV screen, complete with pauses for nuzzling where he would move his head more side to side or up and down, rubbing not only his lips against her but also rubbing his chin gently against her, or lightly caressing her nose with his own before returning to the more conventional kissing of simple lips pressing and retreating and parting against each other now to more fully fit, lips sliding slightly in between the other's like pieces of a puzzle to be warmly met and pressed between the other's lips.

It was relatively innocent, in the sense that there was no tongue involved, but at the same time it was decidedly not, Inuyasha's mouth so thoroughly exploring and testing Kagome's that she wouldn't call it chaste by any means. It was much more passionate than she ever would have thought Inuyasha capable of, considering how dense he usually was. Although, he did tend to be ruled by instinct, and when it came to fighting he was all passion and fire, so she really shouldn't have been all that surprised.

She didn't know exactly when her fingers had become bunched in the red cloth at his waist, but that's where they ended up, and soon she was pulling him closer to her with that grip. She never wanted it to end, she wanted to hold him to her and for them to stay like this…just like this…forever and ever, until the world ceased to spin and the sky fell on top of them.

But of course it did have to end, and so eventually they parted, both breathing more heavily than when they started.

Kagome kept her eyes closed at first, wishing it could have lasted a little longer and hoping that it would happen again, that this wasn't just a one-time thing. Her eyes opened when Inuyasha spoke though, and she gazed up at him, made even more breathless by the molten gold appearance of his eyes as he stared back down into her own eyes.

"I don't think of you as just a friend Kagome…you are much more than that to me."

All she really had to say to that was, "…oh…"

* * *

Author's Note:

Yay! A kiss! It's about time I'd say.

Hope everyone enjoys this new update, and let me know in the comments what you think of it. Who wants more kisses?

So, what episode should I convert to the dark side next ...mwahahahahaha...hack hack, ahem.

More hijinks coming up soon! Stay tuned!

And thank you so much to all my lovely reviewers out there, may you all have rainbows and puppy and kittens. :D

Adios!


	9. Chapter 9

After that kiss Kagome and Inuyasha's relationship changed.

And at the same time…not so much.

"SIT!"

"What was that for?!" Inuyasha spat, ejecting dirt and grass from his mouth along with the words.

"Sit, sit, SIT!"

"HEY!"

The others shared a look and sighed heavily. "I can't believe how stupid Inuyasha can be."

"Yeah," Shippō agreed with Miroku's statement, nodding as he ate the rather odd stew that Kagome had made…especially for Inuyasha.

"It's not even bad, it's just very … distinctive." Sango added, gulping down more water as the extra spicy food made her tongue burn.

"How can you people even eat that stuff?! It sets your mouth on fire!" Inuyasha sputtered as he finally managed to peel himself off the ground, crawling out of the ditch he had been placed in, a very distinctive dog-demon shaped ditch.

Thankfully Kagome was apparently already out of earshot by this point, otherwise the landscape would have been subjected to another Inuyasha shaped grass-angel, a version of a snow angel that Inuyasha was distinctly un-fond of making.

"You must be nicer with your words Inuyasha. She made it for you. Of course she was upset when you said such unbelievably rude things."

He just hmphed and turned away from the others, sulking quietly.

Kagome wasn't having any more fun than him, distinctly less in fact considering she had just found herself trapped within some sort of huge, unpleasant demon. Really, it just looked like a cave, one that she had been lured into with the sound of a child crying out for help, but who did she find? None other than Kikyo. And if that wasn't unpleasant enough, she went and told Kagome that they were now stuck within the "priestess eater" and that there was no way out.

Kagome was displeased.

"Say what?!" She yelped, skidding back a step and instinctively grabbing for her bow.

"Indeed, just as I said. Priestess powers do not work in here, and without an exit we will undoubtedly be consumed."

Kagome huffed, perturbed by how easily Kikyo seemed to accept the fact that she was going to die. The brief thought of maybe just leaving her there flashed through Kagome's mind, but with a swift shake of her head she dismissed the thought with a sharp stab of guilt stinging her in the heart for such horrible thoughts. Inuyasha would never forgive her…and even though Kikyo was essentially his ex-girlfriend, Kagome knew he still loved the other priestess greatly, and the thought of the grief he would experience at her loss made Kagome cringe. She couldn't bear the thought of putting him through that much pain, and so she heaved a sigh and grabbed a hold of Kikyo, slinging her arm over her own shoulders to help lug her towards where her instincts were telling her was the heart of the beast. If there was a way out, it had to be the vulnerable area, the heart, and if she could just destroy that then they would have a chance.

She could already tell Kikyo wasn't going to be any help, she was limp as a wet noodle without her souls and soul collectors to replenish them. That didn't mean she wasn't quiet though.

"Why are you so intent on saving me Kagome?"

"Because…your death would hurt a certain half demon we both know."

"I see." After a very long, very pregnant pause, Kikyo just had to go and ask the one question that Kagome really hoped she wouldn't. "And what is he to you?"

Kagome couldn't help but scoff, just a little. Really, she felt sorry for the other woman, she seemed so weak and Kagome was helpless but to feel sympathy. Even so, she was saying some rather stupid things. "Gee, I dunno. What is he to you?"

She flinched at the sound of the words that popped out of her mouth. That sounded almost like something Inuyasha would say, complete with the same sarcasm and rudeness. She certainly hadn't expected anything like that to come out of her own mouth. Then again, the last time she had seen this woman, she _had_ tried to kill Inuyasha and had shot Kagome with an arrow on top of breaking several of her ribs, so she wasn't overly fond of Kikyo.

There was another long silence, and then the other woman opened her mouth again. "So…you love him. Interesting." She chuckled. It wasn't a really nice chuckle. "I thought as much, given how far you were willing to go to keep him." And then her words devolved into a coughing fit that had her collapsing onto her knees, dragging Kagome down with her.

"Kikyo! Are you okay? Hang in there, we're almost out!"

"Why do you care? I stand in your way … why are you saving me? Just leave me behind and save yourself."

"I already told you why. I can't stand the thought of Inuyasha hurting because you died. Besides, you're a fellow priestess, what kind of priestess would I be if I let you die?"

Kikyo stared up at her with unfathomable eyes. If their roles were reversed Kagome suspected Kikyo wouldn't have been as magnanimous, but she decided to give the other woman the benefit of the doubt. After all, she had been raised from the dead, and she had died under such horrible circumstances. It was only natural she would have had a bad attitude at first. Maybe she had changed, or would change in the future.

So, she offered Kikyo a piggy back ride and hustled on towards the heart of the beast, intent on defeating it and getting out of here.

When they arrived, they were promptly sealed inside, and Kikyo collapsed completely. So it was entirely up to Kagome to get their butts out of this mess. Instinctively she grabbed an arrow and took aim for the huge throbbing "heart" that descended from the ceiling, but the arrow seemed to just get deflected.

"Are you dimwitted? I told you the powers of a priestess would be useless against this demon…" Kikyo murmured from her position on the floor.

Kagome gritted her teeth, determined to not get in a fight with the other priestess at this particular moment. All she allowed herself to say was, "What a thing to say at a time like this! Here I am trying to save your butt; try and show a little gratitude would ya?"

What made things worse was that the entrance into the chamber closed, and tentacles descended from the ceiling, reaching out to try and grab onto her. After this was all over, she intended to give Kikyo a thorough lecture, but at the moment she was a bit busy fending off the tentacles. The last thing she wanted was to end up wrapped up in these things…

She dodged this way and that, smacking the fleshy tendrils aside with her bow. Then she noticed them going for Kikyo, and she darted over to the other priestess slapping the clinging appendages off her body and standing over her to try and protect her.

She shuddered as a slimy pink tendril wrapped around her neck. "Ew…get off me you creep!" While she was busy yanking on that one, another managed to steal her bow. "Hey!"

She finally managed to get free, nearly strangling herself with the two chains around her neck in the process. They had been snagged by that tentacle that had wrapped around her throat. She collapsed to the ground with a gasp and a wince as the chains finally unclasped, her clawing fingers managing to work the closing mechanisms. She had scratched up her throat pretty bad, on top of the chain burn that had already made her skin raw, and so now Kagome was pretty darn sore, and that put her in a bad mood.

Of course…it didn't help that her fang necklace had been removed.

A growl worked its way through her throat as she felt her fangs and claws form. These demon powers really unnerved her, she didn't like the feeling of fire running through her veins or the heat leaving her fingertips and she sure as heck knew she wouldn't like feeling her nails rip through flesh, but she didn't really have a choice.

When two or three wrapped around her she acted on instinct and slashed at them with her claws, giving a relatively girly shriek at odds with the motion. She managed a few little glowy sparks and her fingernails sliced deep into the gooey flesh, much to her disgust. They let her go though, so it was worth it.

Really, aside from being freaked and grossed out she was also pissed, and getting madder and madder by the second. She clenched her teeth against the snarl that wanted to break forth, trying to restrain her demonic urges, but even so she used her claws to slice through any tentacle that came near her

Kikyo meanwhile, had managed to lever herself up a little and was staring at her wide eyed. "What happened to you? You are a demon?"

"Partially," Kagome snapped as she made sushi out of the tentacles still coming at them. "Now isn't the time to talk about it…"

It seemed her claws worked much better than her bow, and so she eyeballed her bow still dangling out of reach. If she could just get it, maybe she could use her demon powers to shoot an arrow that would actually do some damage to this thing. With that in mind she let a tentacle grab an arm, making sure the other stayed free. She was hefted into the air, and as soon as she was within range, she sliced herself free and snagged her bow, landing on her back with a huff and a grunt.

She rolled over and coughed, regaining her breath. She kicked off the tendril that wrapped around her ankle, and grabbed up her bow, snagged an arrow and loaded it to the string. She couldn't access her normal priestess powers in this form, but she drew forth the demonic powers in the same way and tried to train them to the bow and arrow. It didn't work.

The arrow burst into flame and fell to the ground in cinders. "…great," she grumbled, glaring at the burning remains of her arrow. That only left her claws, which she had been attempting to avoid. She glanced down at her hand, which now sported small pointy nails, not overly long or dangerous looking, but she knew that she could get a pretty good long-distance slash, similar to Inuyasha's Iron Reeving Soul Stealer. So, taking a deep breath she tried to steel her nerves, but of course she wasn't really given the chance. A million tentacles were still busy trying to grab her, most likely intent on scooping her up and depositing her somewhere to be digested. That wasn't really something she was comfortable with, so she swiftly amped up the wattage on her claws instinctually, getting a few slashes of light going through the air now that cut and then sputtered out of existence in a slightly pathetic mockery of Inuyasha's powerful technique.

But to do enough damage to get out of here she was going to have to ramp it up way more. Panicking and angry, her eyes flew up to that giant eyeball in the heart thing. She would have to build up enough power to slice it to bits, but at least her demon powers didn't seem to be deflected at all, so that barrier only worked for priestess powers. With her heart pounding in her chest and her blood rushing in her ears, for the first time she intentionally fully called on the fiery powers that she could feel bubbling just under the surface, and tried not to wince as she felt like her blood started to boil in her veins. All her senses suddenly seemed super intense and she almost threw up at the stench that she could now pick up.

Drawing on the powers seemed to have unlocked the floodgates, which she hadn't realized were damming up a huge buildup of demonic energy that must have been bottled up inside her with no outlet ever since she put on her fang necklace, and now it felt like that demonic essence was about to wash her away. She could feel her soul, the bits inside of her that made her "Kagome" getting submerged under animal instinct and a really horrifying bloodlust.

It brought her to her knees almost, and had she been able to without fear of being grabbed and swallowed, she would have collapsed on the spot. As it was, all she could do was lean over and grab handfuls of ragged breath to try and calm her racing heart.

"Inuyasha…give me your strength…" she wheezed, wishing that he was here to help her not drown within this swirling mess of power flooding her brain.

Though he wasn't there, she gained some measure of calm from simply invoking his name, and with a somewhat steadying breath she set her sights on that central point in the eye, wanting to get this thing over and done with so she could find her necklace and hopefully cap off her demonic bits again.

She somehow knew that her claws couldn't do any damage this far away, and so moving on instinct she grabbed onto the nearest tentacle and leapt aboard, using them to jump and run up closer to the eye. Normally she would have fallen on her butt trying to do something like this, but with that feral blood in her body, pounding under her skin, she had amazing reflexes and somehow her body knew how to move to get her where she wanted to go.

She felt the strain in her muscles, and felt several tendons and muscles pop and twinge with pain, telling her that her body wasn't built for these sorts of moves, but she ignored the discomfort and propelled herself ever closer to that heart. As soon as she felt that she was within reach she mustered every ounce of power she had, which was way, way too much, and she released it with a scream, slashing her claws through the air so hard she pulled several muscles in her shoulder and arm.

From the tips of her claws blades of light sliced through the air towards the eyeball, and this time they looked for all the world like Inuyasha's blades of blood or soul stealer attack. The scream she made wasn't exactly a war cry so much as it was a cry of pain, desperation, fear, and pure frustration.

The immense release of power had Kagome feeling faint as the pressure within her eased, a bit too abruptly, and she felt herself get light headed and dizzy like she had stood up too fast. Normally that wouldn't have been a problem, but given that she was a good ten or more feet off the ground, that sort of state within the head meant she went plummeting to the ground, landing in a rather painful pile of tangled limbs and soreness. She didn't even see if her claws had done the job, but based on the loud shriek and the disgusting sensation of thick, wet, goopy stuff splattering down onto her, she assumed she had indeed connected.

As the dreadful sounds waned, so too did the cave and as Kagome managed to peel herself off the ground she looked up to find the entire demon "cave" fading away and going poof with a shower of relatively pretty lights. It was just unfortunate that the splatter of what she had to assume was blood and eye juice covering her didn't disappear like the rest of the demon. So she was left lying in a puddle of grossness, too tired and sore to really move. It didn't help that those demon essences were still thrumming within her, telling her that she needed to kill more.

She had to find her necklace.

So, with that thought in mind she managed to lever herself onto hands and knees, glad that she was wearing pants for once today and that she wouldn't be parading off her ass for anyone to see as she put her nose to the ground and looked for her necklace.

She ignored the sight and feel of Kikyo's soul gatherers bringing the other priestess souls. She kind of just assumed that Kikyo would get better and go away, and highly doubted she would be getting any sort of thanks. But the last thing she expected was to hear the sound of a string being drawn tight or an arrow being notched.

She froze and slowly looked over, shocked out of her wits when she saw said arrow pointing right at her. "Wha-what the heck are you doing?!" She sputtered, sitting and up giving Kikyo a bewildered look.

"You will be unable to block my arrows without your powers as a priestess," she stated, which was true, but didn't really answer the question.

Kikyo was obviously on the attack, for some unknown reason, and intended to kill her or something … which still left the question of _why_.

"I just saved you! Why are you attacking me?" Kagome cried, scooting backwards and feeling like both crying and yelling with angry confusion.

"I never asked for your help."

"Yeah…obviously." Kagome muttered, easing herself back on her butt. "Bu-but…is this really necessary though? I mean, why are you so interested in killing me?"

"You are a demon, a twisted fate and dark path lay in front of you. It would be kinder to end you now."

Okay, that made sense enough, but Kagome had the sneaking suspicion that that wasn't the only reason Kikyo was attacking her, and she suspected her other reason wasn't nearly so noble and selfless. "And my being with Inuyasha has nothing to do with this at all?"

Perhaps it hadn't been the smartest idea to antagonize the chick with the arrow pointed at her chest, but Kagome couldn't restrain her curiosity.

Kikyo was not amused. "I do not wish for you to get in the way again. I fully intend to take Inuyasha."

That made Kagome mad, and she stopped scooching and instead stood abruptly, putting her hands on her hips and ignoring the head rush that made her stagger a little. "TAKE him?! Take him how exactly? What precisely do you mean by "take?" Are we talking the biblical sense of the word? As in kill? Or …"

Kikyo just flatly looked at her, the silence infuriating Kagome even more.

"He isn't yours to take! In any sense of the word! He's not going anywhere with you! And there sure as heck isn't going to be any killing or sexing either!"

"Um…I think I missed something important…."

Both women's heads whirled around to point towards the black haired man standing at the edge of the clearing, looking faintly disturbed and rather amused at the same time.

"Miroku!"

The priest glanced from Kikyo to Kagome, his amusement fading as he noted the weapon aimed at his friend's chest. "What exactly is going on here?"

"Miroku! Go get Inuyasha!" Kagome asked desperately, partly because she was worried that Kikyo would attack Miroku.

He nodded and spun on his heel, disappearing back into the forest. Just to be sure Kikyo wouldn't be tempted to hurt him Kagome regained her attention by saying loudly, "Don't even think about it! I'm your opponent until Inuyasha gets here!"

Kikyo gave her a bland look. "I want Inuyasha to come."

Kagome felt a surge of anger light her enflamed blood. "Oh really? And are you planning on killing me while he's around? If you do he'll never forgive you."

"You will be gone before he gets here." And with that the arrow flew.

With a rare cussword Kagome dived out of the way, her body screaming in protest as her already sprained, strained, and bruised self landed harshly on the ground and skidded. She looked up to see a tree nearby explode and she winced. "You really tried to kill me didn't you?!" She gasped, offended.

The only answer she got was another arrow flying at her. She yelped and scrambled to get out of the arrow's path, only barely managing to avoid it. Without her demon reflexes she never would have made it.

She made her way on hands and knees very speedily to where she saw her bow, grabbing it in the nick of time to deflect another attack. She didn't have her priestess powers but the bow still responded to her and sent out a confusing array of sparks that knocked aside the arrow. Kikyo was obviously serious about killing her. Kagome couldn't help but wonder if maybe the demon thing meant something more to the other priestess. Maybe she was offended that her incarnation had been "defiled" or something, because Kagome would have never expected such a violent attack from Kikyo. Sure, they had fought before, but Kikyo had been trying to drag Inuyasha into hell with her at the time, so it had kind of escalated. This time there had been no escalation, or rather the escalation had happened unexpectedly and exceptionally quickly with no reason to speak of.

Kagome was already dizzy, and this new state of affairs was only giving her an even worse case of whiplash. Really, all Kagome wanted to do was curl up in a ball and pretend that she wasn't there. But she had to find her necklaces, both the one with the jewel shard and the one with Inuyasha's fang dagger. If she could just find that she would be able to access her priestess powers and could make a barrier.

She managed to spot the jewel shard at least, across the field naturally, and so she made a mad dash, scrambling to her feet in a haphazard manner. But of course Kagome, being Kagome, managed to trip on nothing at all and landed on her face, cringing as she heard the bow being tightened and drawn once again.

"Oi! What's going on here?!"

At the familiar voice Kagome raised her head, and nearly wept with joy upon seeing Inuyasha standing at the edge of the clearing.

"Kagome! Are you okay?" He dashed over, kneeling next to her splayed position.

"Yeah, just a little bruised…"

"You're in demon form, where's your necklace?"

"I don't know, it's somewhere around here though." She groaned, managing to get herself into a sort-of seated position, wobbling even though her butt was firmly planted on the ground.

"Inuyasha." Kikyo called, lowering her bow.

He startled, almost seeming like he hadn't really noticed her, though he must have seen her. That was strange, Inuyasha was usually hyper aware when it came to Kikyo. He turned, crouching in front of Kagome as he took in the still somewhat aggressive stance of the priestess, her hand still holding an arrow notched, even if the string was lax and the tip pointed down at the ground now.

"Kikyo, what are you doing?" He asked, sounding tense, again not the way he normally acted around the other priestess.

Kagome immediately honed in on his new attitude, the slight dismissiveness he was displaying confusing her and making her hope that he maybe didn't care about Kikyo the way he used to. She forced herself to dismiss the thought, sure that he still loved the other woman. He had loved her for too long to simply not care anymore. But the way he was obviously standing in front of Kagome was distinctly protective.

Kikyo seemed a little put off, and Kagome saw the way her fingers tightened around the arrow. "Are you protecting her Inuyasha?"

"That depends…are you attacking her?"

"…yes," Kagome grumbled under her breath, not really intending for Inuyasha to hear, but judging from the way he tensed and his ear swiveled back towards her she knew he had.

"Why, Kikyo?" He asked, apparently taking Kagome's word for it.

"She's in our way. Remember how she interfered the last time? You promised me, Inuyasha, you promised that your life was mine." She lowered the bow fully and held out a hand towards Inuyasha instead. "Come Inuyasha, come with me and I will leave Kagome alone. I have no need to kill her if she does not interfere again."

Kagome flinched and closed her eyes, expecting Inuyasha to walk over to her. She felt like sobbing as he stood from his slightly crouched position. There was a long silence, or what seemed like a long silence to Kagome.

Then… "No."

Kagome jerked and her eyes flew open to stare at Inuyasha in shock.

He continued. "I'm sorry Kikyo, but that promise was made before I shared my blood with Kagome. Now I belong to her."

If possible, Kagome was even more shocked, her jaw falling open. So there was more to that blood-sharing ceremony than he had let on. Somehow she had known that it meant more, and Kikyo apparently had also known, judging by the way her eyes tightened knowingly.

"As I suspected, the reason for Kagome's change in abilities and appearance was due to _**that**_ ceremony. How dare you Inuyasha! How dare you break your promise to me?!"

"I had no choice! She would have died otherwise."

Kagome's heart lurched, realizing that he had been forced into making that choice, whatever that choice meant to him. Apparently it meant quite a lot, and suddenly Kagome had to wonder if he would have ever chosen her over Kikyo if he hadn't been forced by the threat of her death.

"I see, so she forced you into this arrangement."

Kikyo echoing her own thoughts only made Kagome cringe harder and she fought the urge to cry.

"No. She didn't force me, it was my own choice. And I don't regret it, although I do regret that it causes you pain."

"So you choose her? Is that your final decision?"

Kagome dared to look up, and saw Inuyasha's firm nod and Kikyo's pained expression before she smoothed out her features. She nodded and stiffly turned and walked away, not looking back even once.

There was a long silence as Inuyasha stood there, watching Kikyo walk away. Kagome risked a glance up at his profile, the little of it that she could see, and she noted the tightness around his eyes that showed he was perturbed. That only made her feel worse, that he was forced to choose her, but actually wanted to go after Kikyo.

The pain was such that she cleared her throat and softly said, "Inuyasha…I don't know what you were talking about, but if this blood thing is some sort of contract then I release you from it. You don't have to choose me over her just because you shared your blood with me…so…if you want to go with her…I won't stop you."

Her heart crawled up out of her chest and choked her more with every word she spoke, and she regretted it even as she said it. But there was no way she could stand the thought of Inuyasha staying with her against his will. Yes, she was jealous of Kikyo, she was sad and incredibly pained by the thought of Inuyasha with the other woman, but at the same time she loved him and wanted him to be happy. Even if it meant that she had to yank her own heart out of her chest and tie it up so it wouldn't hurt her anymore.

His head turned in her direction and he glanced at her out of one golden eye, giving her a long look before he sighed and shook his head, looking away for an equally long moment.

This silence was so unlike Inuyasha that Kagome only got more nervous and upset and just bit her lip, dragging herself more into a sitting position, though it hurt and made her even more dizzy and slightly nauseous. She kept her gaze trained firmly at the ground, uncomfortable with the whole thing and trying to keep herself from crying. Inuyasha would definitely smell her tears, and that wouldn't be good.

It didn't help that her demon blood was still in full effect and she still didn't know what to do about it. Her emotions were already all over the place, and on top of that she still felt the fiery, weird, feral sensations churning in her gut, making her want to lash out. They were regrouping, she could clearly feel, and the blood was pulsing within her. With all her pain and discomfort at this particular moment, the demon blood was making her feel like she needed a strait jacket or something, and felt a creeping, crawling dark feeling along with mounting anxiety that signaled an oncoming panic attack. She hadn't ever experience one personally, but she'd been witness to one of Yuka's, and so she recognized it from that.

As her heartrate and breathing increased she winced and closed her eyes tightly, a tiny moan coming from her as she curled into her legs and grabbed hold, wishing it would stop. She didn't notice how Inuyasha glanced down, or how an expression of concern shot across his features.

She did however notice when he walked away from her, and for a brief moment she thought he was going to take her advice and go after Kikyo, but he returned only a moment later. When Kagome didn't look up, he said, "Hey, put this on."

She tilted her head up and saw her two necklaces dangling an inch from her nose. She nodded and grabbed the chains, looping them over her head and feeling the physical shifts that told her she was normal again. Without the demon blood pumping through her she experienced a sudden wave of dizziness and exhaustion, making her wobble and slump a little, only just barely able to keep herself from keeling over and falling flat on her face.

"Kagome! You okay?" Inuyasha yelped, squatting down on his haunches in front of her and steadying her shoulder with his hands.

She finally looked up, still conflicted but trying to put it out of her mind. At least without the demon blood her emotions had calmed down and the threatening panic attack eased off until she felt relatively normal again. Now she was mostly just tired and felt slightly defeated.

She gave him a slightly faked smile and chirped, "Sure…just tired."

He scowled, obviously not buying it. "Yeah, sure you are. You look like you're about to pass out Kagome, what happened here anyways? You're covered in demon blood and you look pretty banged up."

"Just some sort of big demon that likes to eat priestesses, no big deal." She shrugged.

His eyes got wide. "Wait, what?!"

With a sigh she went into more detail, even though she didn't really feel like it. "I was tricked into going into this big demon-cave thing, and I saw Kikyo in there. We managed to escape, but in the process of fighting my way out I lost my necklaces and turned into a demon … and then Kikyo flipped out, as you saw."

"Yeah."

There was an awkward silence, and then eventually Kagome managed to lever herself into a fully upright position and Inuyasha pulled back some, still sitting on his haunches in front of her.

"Um…Inuyasha?" She finally mumbled, unable to contain herself any longer. "What did she mean by … ' _ **that'**_ ceremony?"

He grimaced and looked away, and to her shock he flushed. "Uh… well, she was talking about the blood-sharing thing."

"I gathered that, but what I meant was, why did she seem to know something about it? And for that matter, you said something about it too, that you shared you blood with me and now you … 'belonged' to me." She air quoted the word 'belonged' not really trusting herself to treat it seriously.

He only seemed to get more uncomfortable. "That's … eh … uh … it's kinda a … an intimate sort of ceremony."

"Intimate?"

"It binds us together in an intimate _way_ , is what I meant to say."

"What do you mean by 'bind'?" Kagome felt like she was pulling teeth, interrogating him like this when he was so reluctant, but she was finally getting some answers and she was planning on getting all the answers.

He huffed. "Okay look … it's mostly used between demons or interspecies as a … uh … sort of like a marriage thing."

Kagome just stared at him wide eyed, blinking rapidly.

He took one look at her and flinched. "I mean! Uh! You know, with the blood and everything, if two demons are from different species, like a dog and a cat demon, and they want to … well … anyways, they need to combine their blood so they're … uh … compatible … and can have … kids and stuff …" He trailed off on a mumble.

"But…but how did that do me any good?! This marriage ceremony thing saved my life?" Kagome sputtered, not fully understanding.

"Well, yeah. It combined our essences and in the process gave you demon aspects which fought off the poison in your blood. It's also used sometimes between demons and humans to give the human a demon lifespan … my human mother for instance lived much longer than a normal human woman."

Kagome was back to blinking. "Oh." Was all she could say for a moment, and then she finally regathered her thoughts enough to ask, "And why wasn't I told that we were basically getting married?"

He flinched again. "I figured you wouldn't wanna do it if you knew."

"So you tricked me into doing it? And … and you _drugged_ me?" She gasped, only just now realizing the true purpose behind that drugged smoke.

"Uh … the herbs really were for pain. But yeah, they kinda … made things easier."

Kagome was getting mad. "Inuyasha! You didn't even give me a choice!"

"I couldn't take the risk that you would say no! It was do or die Kagome! I wasn't going to lose you!"

"Well…I'm thankful for you saving me, but just because I have your blood now and it's usually used as a marriage ceremony, doesn't mean that I hold you to that. You are not honor bound to be with me or anything. Is … is this why you kissed me?" She choked out, freaking out now and once again trying not to cry.

He stood. She didn't even remember standing up, but sure enough she was teetering on her feet now. When had that happened?

"Kagome…it doesn't work like that. This isn't something I can just dismiss as easily as all that. It's not honor, its blood. We're bound together now … for as long as we live. I mean, you could probably … if you went back home … but … I …" He cringed, obviously finding the words difficult to say.

"Are you saying that if I went home I could dump you?"

He nodded tightly.

"And what would you do?"

He shrugged. "Dunno. I couldn't ever _be_ with anyone else, it would feel wrong."

"'Wrong?' like morally wrong?" Kagome questioned, still trying to understand.

"No, like physically wrong. My blood would be crying out for you, and it wouldn't let me care about anyone else in the same way."

Kagome flinched. "And is the only reason you care about me because of the blood thing? Is it all fake?"

Inuyasha cocked his head to the side. "Fake? What the hell do you mean by that? I haven't felt any different since the blood-thing, I'm just more aware of you all the time. Like I can sense you and stuff, but it didn't change the way I feel about you."

"And Kikyo? Are you trying to tell me you just randomly stopped loving her? That has to be part of the blood-thing."

He shrugged. "I still care about her. But not really … that way anymore. I haven't for a little while now."

She blinked, taken aback. It was hard to believe he hadn't loved Kikyo for a while … Kagome had been so sure that he still loved her. "B-but … what about when I saved you from her and you wouldn't talk to me for a month?! You chose her over me then, and that was only a couple of months ago! Your feelings couldn't have changed that fast."

He groaned. "You're never gonna let me forget that are you? I was just…it wasn't so much love for her that made me do it, so much as it was a sense of obligation. I was…I was conflicted. I _thought_ I loved her… and I did love her… once. But I don't anymore. If I did I wouldn't have been able to do the ceremony because my blood would have rebelled. I might have been able to give you some blood to fight off the poison, but it wouldn't have bonded to you the way it did, it wouldn't have given you any demonic aspects."

"How did you … I mean, _did_ you know? Were you thinking it wouldn't stick?"

He gave her a mildly cranky expression now. "No. Like I said, I made my choice and I don't regret it. I knew it would stick, that it would bind us, and I was fine with that. I can't imagine my life without you anyways."

He said it in such a huffy, irritable tone that Kagome almost missed the meaning behind the words. She felt weak, and not just because she was tired. She felt weak in the knees, like the old saying.

"Together forever huh?" She whispered, staring at him in shock and awe.

"Yeah…if you agree to it. But I'm warning you Kagome…I'm not gonna give you the option to back out beyond this point, so you either need to go home now before I get too possessive, or stay here. But if you stay, you won't be able to ever go back to your world, at least not for longer than a few days at a time. You can't go back there to live after all this is over."

He eased closer to her, almost as if he was stalking her, as he said this, and she could feel the tension radiating from him, as if he was holding himself back from grabbing her. He was like a tight bowstring that would fly at any minute.

She was completely overwhelmed. What should she do? This was an ultimatum, and apparently it was going to change her whole life, and it had appeared so abruptly that she didn't know what to do. "I…Inuyasha…why now? Why are you saying these things now?"

"Because you know now, and your knowing makes it almost impossible for me to hold myself back. With you not knowing I could convince myself to keep things the way they were, but now…I don't think I can keep myself from holding onto you. If you wanna go this is your only chance."

"I-I don't want to go…" She whispered

He tensed, visibly, and when he asked his next question it was with a much lower voice, more serious and intense … way more intense. "Are you sure? You're gonna have to say it plainly … do you want to be with me?"

Taking a deep breath Kagome searched herself for the answer, trying to silence her mind and let her heart speak for itself. The only answer she felt was, 'yes, YES, _**YES.**_ ' So, she released that breath and opened her eyes, meeting Inuyasha's intense golden stare.

"Y-Yes, Inuyasha, I want to be with you." And then she squeaked as Inuyasha pounced.

If he hadn't wrapped his arms around her she would have keeled over from it all, and she found herself leaning shakily against him for support. Despite being sure of her choice, she was still mightily overwhelmed by the abrupt ultimatum and all this new information.

He buried his head into her shoulder, and she could hear him snuffling, like he was smelling her, which probably was exactly what he was doing. He was squeezing her so hard she found it slightly difficult to breath, and all her sore muscles and tendons protested the rough treatment strongly.

"Inu-Inuyasha…too tight." She wheezed and he immediately lightened his grip on her, but didn't let her go.

"Sorry…you okay?" He mumbled, the words going directly into her shoulder.

"Yeah…I'm just sore cause of jumping around like a demon. My body isn't used to that sort of stuff."

He chuckled. "I can train you if you like."

She shivered. "Uh…I dunno. Those demon powers kinda scare me…" She whispered softly, embarrassed.

"Even more reason to get used to them. They ain't goin' anywhere I promise you … and if you keep them all bottled up it's gonna be even worse."

"Yeah, I noticed that." She sighed, burying her own face into Inuyasha's long silver hair, breathing in his scent with her weaker human nose.

They fell silent at that point, just happy to absorb each other's presence.

For a long moment Kagome immersed herself in the feel of Inuyasha holding her, breathing in his smell, feeling his warmth. At first it was soothing, and she slowly relaxed against him, all her confusion and distress melting away to be replaced with warmth and happiness. That warmth only seemed to grow, and by the time Inuyasha stirred against her she felt like she should be glowing.

He nuzzled his nose and mouth against her shoulder, and her stomach tensed in response. The tension that thrummed through her now was entirely different from the distressed tension from before; this was a melty, warm kind of tightness that settled low in her belly with excitement and nerves. They had only kissed that one time a week or so previously, but she suddenly had the gut feeling that this was quickly turning into that sort of intimate situation, and the prospect had her feeling all bubbly and nervous and excited.

She twitched when Inuyasha once again nuzzled her, and then again when she felt his warm breath touch on her neck. The puff of moist air was warning enough, but she still found herself surprised at the touch of his mouth on her skin, having expected it and yet still shocked by the heat and gentle pressure. His lips pressed against her neck in a kiss, pulled back, and then pressed against another spot. He placed gentle kisses all along her neck, and the warmth and softness of his mouth felt good, better than she would have expected really. His lips were chapped, as they had been last time, so she felt a slightly rough texture rasping against her skin as well, and surprisingly Kagome didn't find it unpleasant. Rather, the slight scraping only seemed to make her nerves tingle.

Since she thoroughly enjoyed the attention, she tilted her head a little to give him better access, and he rumbled in a pleased way, a very soft sound compared to his cranky snarls. He eventually settled in one spot and she shivered when she felt his lips part and his breath hit her with more humidity from his open mouth. Given his dog-like nature, she really should have expected him to lick her, but the sudden warm slick sensation had her jumping. In any other context it would have grossed her out, but at this particular moment it seemed to only excite her further, and she felt her belly clench in a very pleasurable and slightly strange way.

Even so, the shock had her stuttering, "D-did you j-just … lick me?!"

Hot air puffed against her as he huffed. "Heh…yeah? And what of it?"

The slightly harsh response was tempered by the fact that she could hear amusement in his voice, which meant he was teasing her.

"I-I…hey!" She was interrupted by the sensation of his tongue stroking up her neck, quite a bit more obvious this time since it was a long lick from her collarbone to under her ear. Once again it was a combination of heat and wetness, almost feeling silky in a weird way, but also a little slimy and the cool air touching on her now wet skin sent a slight shiver through her. She sputtered nonsensically, and he didn't seem to be paying any attention to her anyway.

He gave her one last small lick up under her ear and then his lips touched against her, this time almost seeming to nip at her. He used the strength of his lips only, and so the pressure was still soft as he grabbed some of her skin between his lips and pinched it lightly, even sucking a little. He pressed similar nipping kisses down her neck and then she felt something distinctly not soft and very pointy prick the skin lower on her neck, near her shoulder. The new touch had her flinching, not in fear really, but more in shock and a little sting of nerves.

The sharp pressure of a supernatural fang had all kinds of new thoughts suddenly sparking in her mind, like the fact that yes…he had fangs, and claws, and superhuman strength, and currently she was in a completely human form. How were those dangerous aspects going to affect their relationship? And what the heck was he doing anyway? She couldn't help but be surprised by the scrape of his sharp teeth against the sensitive, and quite delicate skin at her throat, and it sent shivers through her as she tensed.

He paused, and pulled back slightly, mumbling into her neck, "…scared…?"

She shuddered, the question making her tense more, and she didn't know if it was nerves or excitement. She managed to swallow thickly, and then gasped as he gave her a little nip with the fangs under question, seemingly trying to hurry her up. It stung a little, but it was more the threat of what those incredibly sharp points could do that had her responding. His fangs were much sharper than she would have expected.

"I-uh…not really…just…uh…I don't really know why you're doing that."

"You're just going to have to get used to it, Kagome; biting's kinda a big thing for demons."

"No kiddin-ah!" Once again her words cut off, this time because he had nipped her again … rather harshly. She yelped at the sharp twinge that was caused by his fangs pinching her skin and she flinched, definitely nervous now. She even pulled away a little, not really sure she was okay with the idea of being chewed on or bitten any harder than she already had been, but that only seemed to rile him up more, and he growled as he tightened his hold on her.

His mouth latched onto her once again, and she tensed up, scrunching her eyes closed and expecting to feel some pain as he bit her. But the pain didn't come, she just felt the sharp points of his fangs press into her skin, but not hard enough to hurt, only hard enough that she felt them quite distinctly. And then the warmth of his mouth clamped down over his teeth and he sucked on her skin, in a rather more dangerous version of what she would imagine a hicky would feel like. She stopped pulling away and somewhat hesitantly relaxed back into his hold, still nervous and on edge, but her body was already so into it all that she couldn't really help herself. It actually felt kind of good, even with the pointy teeth.

After a moment he pulled back, rather abruptly, and her eyes flew open in surprise. She met his eyes, and was immediately captured by his slightly wild golden gaze, feeling almost as if his stare burned deep inside the pit of her stomach, lighting her on fire from the inside out. His eyes were almost feral. As if drawn like two magnets their heads leaned in, and she could see his eyes flash down to her mouth before looking back into her eyes.

She sucked in a deep breath, realizing what was about to happen, and wanting him to kiss her so badly with an abrupt intensity that stole her breath from her lungs. The breath that she had sucked in was trapped as her chest shut down, holding it prisoner as she desperately urged him to press his mouth to hers, all thoughts of sharp teeth flying right out of her head. Their noses brushed, and then Inuyasha stalled. They were a hairsbreadth away from each other, and the sudden stopping wasn't making Kagome happy.

And then his eyes closed tightly, scrunching almost as if in pain, and he jerked back again, shaking his head.

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

He could feel a deep burning within him, and he got the itching feeling that he was treading dangerous waters now. He couldn't help but want to claim her completely as his, right here and right now, but he knew good and well she wasn't ready for that. She was shivering in his arms, had gasped and protested a little scrape of his fangs, no way was she ready for him to claim her. But if they continued he knew he wouldn't be able to stop, not with the way he was currently feeling.

Talking about all of this had awakened his instincts, drawn his attention to it all in a way he had desperately been trying to avoid, for her sake, which was precisely why he hadn't wanted to tell her about it. He had been right in predicting that he would become highly unstable. At the moment he was grasping at straws, doing anything and everything in his power to convince himself to let her go, before things got out of hand. It helped that she was covered in demon goo and stench, at least it covered her sweet scent a little.

With a growl in his chest that he worried would frighten her even more, he literally forced himself to pull it together and yanked himself back from her, despite the ache in his middle that said it was wrong to put more distance between them. What he desperately wanted was to close that distance, to make it as little as physically possible. Heck, if it were physically possible to not have any space between them he would love that right about now.

But he wanted much more than what she was offering right now, and therein laid the danger. He would be damned before he forced himself on her. And that was the thought that let him yank himself back finally. Picturing her face crushed and fearful of him was just as good as a cold shower.

It was tough though, even tougher when he looked down into her doe-eyes, which stared up at him with a sort of pouty, sad expression that said she had wanted him to kiss her. He very nearly broke right then and there, but held himself back through force of will alone. He had to tell her why he hadn't kissed her though, he knew that, because soon her eyes were shifting from disappointment to hurt, and that was an expression he wanted to stop in its tracks.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

Kagome couldn't help the sinking feeling of rejection that dropped her heart down into her stomach where it felt like it dissolved. Why had he stopped? Did he not want to kiss her?

"I-Inuyasha?"

"Sorry Kagome…" His voice sounded mildly strangled. "I gotta - I gotta stop. I don't wanna risk hurting you."

"Hurting me?" She repeated, the feeling of rejection lessening somewhat as she realized there might be a legitimate reason for his not kissing her.

He simply nodded in answer to the question and peeled his arms from around her, seeming to have to force himself to do so. He took one step back and looked away, obviously uncomfortable, and his clenched fists gave away the tension he was feeling. Kagome didn't know what was going on.

"I'm not really in control of myself right now. I might get too rough."

Kagome wasn't entirely sure what he meant by that, but she still was able to pick up on the undertones of the meaning behind the words, and the idea made her flush. Could it be that Inuyasha wanted her? Like _that?_ What did he mean by "in control"? Was it truly dangerous for him to be out of control when they kissed? What would happen if they did? All sorts of questions whirled through her mind, but at the moment she felt way too awkward to ask any of them. So, she simply blushed and nodded.

After a long, rather awkward pause, they turned to return to camp. It was a silent walk, neither of them very comfortable with saying anything at the moment. They were both too wrapped up in their thoughts and individual feelings of embarrassment.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! Well here it is, the new chapter.

Hope everyone enjoyed the almost kiss, little intimate scene we got here, as always there's more where that came from ;) So who all wants them to do more than kiss?

This also helped to explain some more about what's going on, and there'll be even more explanations in the next chapter. The plot it thickening ya'll (insert cowboy drawl here)

As always let me know what you thought about it, and to all my lovely reviewers I give love and kisses! Mwa Mwa *air kiss sounds*

See you in the next chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

For the next few days Kagome just couldn't stop thinking about the incident with Kikyo.

The whole encounter took Kagome a full day to really unpack in her head, and she was left still feeling somewhat confused and curious. The swirling thoughts wouldn't stop, and for several nights she found herself staring up at the night sky, wide awake with her brain talking up a storm.

So she wasn't overly surprised when this night, she once again found herself unable to sleep. She lay awake in her sleeping bag, staring up at the dark outlines of the tree branches above her and the slight trails of smoke that the fire emitted.

What the heck had happened? Inuyasha seemed to have chosen her, over Kikyo of all crazy things, and she still couldn't quite wrap her mind around that. She was so used to the idea that he loved Kikyo, and that she simply had to put up with it, that she didn't know what to do with this new state of affairs. Did he truly feel the way he said? Or was it just this blood thing that made him feel this way? Was it all some fabricated fake reality? From what he had said it seemed that the blood-marriage thing wouldn't have even been possible if he didn't already have feelings for her, but he hadn't exactly been explicit about what those feelings were. He had only said that he cared about her…but did that mean that he loved her?

Really, she shouldn't be splitting hairs here, she should just be happy that he had confessed his feelings for her, as vague as that had been, and that he had chosen her over Kikyo. And she _was_ incredibly happy about that…it was just that she was concerned that he had been forced into this arrangement. Then again … when did Inuyasha ever do anything against his will?

The questions keeping her awake showed no sign of abating, and she was starting to resign herself to her fate of another long sleepless night, when a sharp sting in her cheek presented her with the perfect answer. Familiar with the sensation she quickly reached up to smack and then capture the tiny flea demon that she knew was perching on her face.

"Myoga, you have great timing." She whispered to the tiny demon captured in her hand.

He poked his head out between her fingers and gave her a hesitant look. "Miss Kagome! Uh…how may I help you?"

She quietly made her way out of her sleeping bag and into the forest where she could have a private conversation with the flea. "I had some questions, hopefully you can answer them."

"Of course!" He hopped up and down in her palm, as always excited to be of help. Kagome suspected that he was simply very happy to be talked to and not squashed and reprimanded.

"Earlier, I had a moment with Inuyasha." She flushed, trying to think of how to word it. "Um…we talked about the blood sharing ceremony, and he told me it was like a marriage ceremony, but he didn't really explain much about it beyond that, only saying that it bound us together or something to that effect."

"And you would like me to explain it further?" Myoga was using his best, snobby, " _I know something you don't and I'm very happy to explain it and make you feel stupid,"_ voice.

"Exactly."

"I see. Well then, first of all did he explain that it's used generally between different kinds of demons?"

Kagome nodded.

"Well it's less commonly used between demons and humans, mainly because it's relatively rare for demons and humans to get mated."

Kagome interrupted at this point. "Uh…mated?"

"Yes, "mated" is the normal term in the demon world. Marriage is the closest thing to it in the human world, but it seems that marriage is significantly less binding. But I will explain that in a minute. It's easier to explain in sequence."

He cleared his throat, obviously preparing for a long lecture. "First of all mating doesn't require a blood-contract, a typical mating ceremony is just as binding but doesn't involve blood sharing as intimate, however if the mating is between different species then blood sharing is necessary."

He paused and then seemed to correct himself. "Well actually, the mating ceremony is the same, and a mating is still conducted in the same manner between different species, but to be able to _procreate_ the blood-ceremony is performed. So, often they are done in conjunction, although occasionally the mating ceremony comes first and then the blood-ceremony comes later when the couple is ready to have children."

Kagome flushed, getting a vague idea of where this conversation was going.

Myoga continued, still happily on his soap box. "The purpose of a blood-contract is to combine the blood of the two demons, usually within the female, so that she can bear her mate's offspring. Otherwise the genes wouldn't mix properly and she would never be able to get pregnant. Of course in your case the combining of blood served to weed out that poison in your blood stream, Inuyasha's powerful demon blood fought it off and saved your life. The fact that you two are bound by a blood-contract but haven't gone through the mating ceremony is quite unusual. Of course blood-contracts are used for other things, when they aren't in conjunction with a mating. They can be used to form a sort of harem, to have many different types of women that can bear a demon's child, or even to create slaves, or to make a lasting bond between demons who are comrades. It all depends on the type of blood-sharing ceremony that was conducted. If I may ask, what all was involved with the ceremony that Inuyasha and you performed?"

"Um…well I don't remember much, there was a drugged herbal smoke that made my memory of it foggy." Kagome thought about it hard for a moment, and some memories began to surface. "Let's see, I think…he cut his throat? ... Or something…and then he … put the blood in his mouth, and…he bit me? That doesn't make much sense…"

"Ah…I see. Yes that sounds like the ceremony related to mating and procreation. I'm surprised the ceremony didn't put you into heat…" Myoga mused to himself.

A sudden gut lurching feeling made Kagome think that something had definitely happened while she was drugged, something that she wasn't really sure she wanted to remember. However, the words had sparked a memory, one that made her flush bright red. She still didn't remember any details, but she suddenly distinctly remembered a very strong arousal, one that she was absolutely positive had happened during said ceremony. She could only hope that nothing had come of it, and that Inuyasha had been unaware of it. She certainly wasn't going to say anything about it to Myoga.

He was already busy continuing his explanation anyways. "Well at any rate, the ceremony that you participated in means that your blood has been combined in a way that will insure offspring. However you and Inuyasha are not officially mated, since you have not completed the mating ceremony, and therefore his statement of your being married isn't exactly true. Is there anything else he said?"

"Uh…only that he wouldn't be able to be with another woman. Or something like that. He told Kikyo that he belonged to me, and then he told me that it would feel wrong to be with anyone else, something about his blood seeking me? He also said that if he hadn't felt for me the way he did, that our blood wouldn't have combined. I dunno, it was all rather strange. And also…there was a point where I thought he was going to … uh … kiss me, and then he pulled back and said something about not wanting to hurt me. Could that have to do with any of this?"

"Hmmm, very interesting. Yes, I believe it does have to do with this. From what you've told me, it seems that he considers the two of you mated, even though you haven't actually completed the mating ceremony. These sorts of things do involve a lot of intention and feeling, and so it is true that if he didn't feel as if you were a worthy mate, then his blood would not have taken to you the way it did. Sometimes mates are even chosen based on whether a good blood-match can be made, and if the blood rejects the other's then it means they don't make a good match. Sometimes that has to do with strength, but often it has to do with feelings. So, if Inuyasha has decided to consider you his mate, then he would indeed feel very strongly for you and would cast aside any other potential mates. Once a mate has been made it's for life. Of course some demons have more than one mate, but that's rare, and rather frowned upon. So in a way it is very much like marriage, but much more intense."

"You said something like that before. What exactly do you mean?"

"Well, there is no divorce, and a true mating is for life. Plus of course it's deeply rooted in instincts. Possession, protection, claiming, mating, procreation…not to mention he's a dog-demon and they have a strong dominating instinct over their mates, not that he's really exhibited that, but I suspect he will in _some_ circumstances."

There was a definite inflection there, and most of what he said seemed to be going right back to mating, which Kagome suspected meant sex of some sort. She had no idea what he meant by "claiming" either. Procreation was obvious, but she really hoped that wasn't something Inuyasha was wanting because she was far from wanting to get pregnant any time soon.

"Um…okay, back up a bit there. Define, 'instinct', 'claiming', 'mating', and 'domination' because none of those things sound really good."

Myoga blinked. "I'm not sure that's something I should answer. But I will say this, a mating instinct is strong, and probably even stronger in a situation such as yours where the mating ceremony hasn't even taken place but where Inuyasha feels as if you are already his mate. I'm sure his instincts are screaming at him to claim you properly, and no I'm not going to tell you what goes into 'claiming'. I don't want to scare you off."

That didn't really make Kagome feel any better about it, in fact it just made her more uncomfortable. But before she could question him further he held up one tiny little flea hand and said seriously, "One bit of advice Kagome, I wouldn't push him. If he says he needs to stop, then he needs to stop. Really, I would advise against any sort of physical contact out of the ordinary, because it might set him off. If he loses control he really could hurt you, especially if you're in your human form. He wasn't lying when he said that. Demon mating can get rough, and I doubt you could force him to stop, even in your demon form. Also, your demon form might set off more instincts in him, so I'd stay human. However, if something happens and he can't stop, then as a last resort you should probably take off your necklace. It might make his instincts stronger, but you'd probably be able to handle it better on your end of things since a demon's body is much more resilient."

Kagome was shell-shocked. She certainly hadn't expected this sort of thing when she asked Myoga about this, and now she was wishing that she hadn't. What the hell was he talking about? Was mating anything like a normal couple activity? Was it anything like making love? Or was it something else entirely? All this talk about Inuyasha hurting her was making her quite nervous. Myoga apparently could sense her rising dread, and correctly interpreted it as her about to ask him a whole mess of questions, because suddenly he jumped away, disappearing in that way that he had perfected, and Kagome was left grasping at air and shouting after him to come back.

"Darn it all! That flea…what a coward." She grumbled, making her way back to the campsite.

"You okay Kagome? I heard you shout."

She jumped a foot in the air at the sound of Inuyasha's voice. "Eep! Uh…yeah, I'm fine, eheheh, um…I'm just…I'm gonna go back to bed now…" She edged around him and scooted back to her sleeping bag, leaving behind a very confused Inuyasha.

The next day Kagome continued to feel uneasy and embarrassed around the white-haired half-demon. She had mostly gotten over her fear, though the nerves just wouldn't seem to go away. Basically the only thing she could do was dismiss most of what Myoga had said as his typical over-exaggeration of things. There was no way Inuyasha could want her enough to rape her….right? That was just ridiculous. Maybe she had misunderstood what Myoga was getting at, after all he was being very vague there near the end. Even so, she couldn't look at Inuyasha without words like 'mating,' 'claiming,' 'procreating,' and the like going through her head, and it made her blush and look away every time.

She was a virgin after all. It wasn't like she didn't know what sex was or anything, but the concept was pretty foreign to her. She hadn't ever had a boyfriend. Her romantic experiences were limited to the movies and books. She used to be a "normal" teenager and thought about that sort of thing all the time, but ever since coming to feudal japan all those thoughts had mostly been knocked out of her mind. Falling in love with Inuyasha had of course brought those sorts of ideas back, but since she hadn't ever even thought kissing was an option she had never really entertained thoughts of anything more. But now…

Her avoidance did not go unnoticed, and soon Inuyasha started going out of his way to walk next to her. All Kagome could do was to look doggedly at her feet and try not to run into anyone in front of her.

"Oi! Kagome! Hey! Kagome! What the hell? Why are you ignoring me?! Helloooo?! What'd I do?"

Kagome just gritted her teeth and did her best to ignore him as he continued to pester her, getting increasingly loud. Eventually she determined he wasn't going to give up.

"Just leave off Inuyasha! It's nothing!" She barked back, and did her best to peddle her bike ahead of him.

"That's dumb Kagome. Obviously it's something. Come on, tell me what's going on."

"I told you to leave off! Stop pestering me Inuyasha! Nothing's wrong!" She shouted back.

Still, he didn't get the hint and kept at it. After a moment Kilala dropped back in the line and walked alongside her, mewing up at her in question.

"Yeah, thanks Kilala."

The cat nodded and transformed, letting Kagome hop onto her. The two of them soared up higher, away from Inuyasha and his yelling.

She traveled for the rest of the day on Kilala's back, just burying her face into the warm fur and trying to make herself stop thinking about inappropriate things.

That evening, once they had set up camp for the night, Kagome went up onto a nearby hill, ostensibly to watch the sunset and clear her head, which no one questioned since they could tell she was quite perturbed about something. Really though, she just wanted to get away from Inuyasha who was uncharacteristically staying quiet and simply glaring at her accusatorially.

Up on the hill she sat down, grateful for the leggings that she had packed and guarded her thighs against the cold damp grass.

It wasn't long before she was joined by her fluffy eared friend. He plopped down in the grass next to her, and then after a couple of minutes he burst out with, "Okay…spill it Kagome. What the hell's wrong with you?"

She just sighed, not even trying to ignore him since she knew it was pointless anyways. "That's rude Inuyasha."

"Well it's rude to ignore someone ain't it?"

She flinched. Yeah, he had her there.

"So…spit it out!"

"Inuyasha, I don't wanna talk about it."

"Tough! Cause we're gonna talk about it!" He snapped.

"No! We're not!"

"Yes we are!"

Kagome was starting to get cranky. " _Inuyasha…._ " She warned, threatening him with what he knew was about to happen if he didn't lay off.

He either didn't get the message or didn't care. "Kagome…I'm not going to leave you alone until you tell me what's going on!"

"I'm warning you Inuyasha, if you don't shut up right now…"

"Oh yeah?! Now look who's being rude! First completely ignoring me, and now telling me to shut up…you sure are being a …"

He didn't get to finish that sentence.

"SIT!"

His face met the ground. "Kagome!" He spat, managing to crane his neck enough to get a few muffled words out. "Geez, every time you don't like what I'm doing you 'sit' me! If I could 'sit' you I would know what the heck was wrong!"

"Why are you being so persistent!"

"Because I'm worried about you!" He yelled back, the angry tone of voice totally at odds with the caring words.

She abruptly grew ashamed of herself. A deep, sinking feeling of guilt wrapped its dark tentacles around her and made her feel claustrophobic and sick to her stomach. Inuyasha was right…she did abuse her powers. Any time he said something she didn't like she 'sat' him without any remorse, even though she knew it hurt and that he didn't like it. The fact that he was worried about her struck her in the gut like a sucker punch. Of course he was worried about her…she'd been ignoring him as if she was mad, or as if she was hurt or something. And here she was not answering his questions and expecting him to just suck it up and worry in silence. How conceited was she?

With a groan she knelt down, getting low to the ground so she could go face to face with the flattened Inuyasha, who's eyes widened somewhat in surprise.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha. I shouldn't 'you-know-what' you for every little thing. It's just…this whole thing is embarrassing and I really don't wanna talk about it."

"Can you at least tell me what you mean by 'this whole thing'?"

She sighed. "It's…I talked to Myoga about some of the things you told me the other day…about the blood-sharing and stuff, and he said some things that freaked me out. That's all."

A snarl ripped from Inuyasha's chest, startling Kagome into jerking back. "What did he tell you?! That little Cretan…I'll kill him the next time I get my claws on him."

"Uh…that's the thing I don't really wanna…"

"Kagome…tell me what got you so freaked out. You haven't been able to look me in the eye all day!"

She flushed, hiding her face in the grass. When she heard the grass rustling, indicating that Inuyasha was free to move again she panicked, and when he reached over to grab onto her shoulder and tried to get her to look up the word popped out of her mouth before she could stop it. "Sit!"

It was just lucky that he didn't hit her, and she flinched violently as his head smacked down literally an inch beside hers. After spitting out a mouthful of grass he sputtered, "Damn it all Kagome! That was fucking dangerous! I could have been 'sat' right into you! Do you know how hard I hit the ground when you sit me? I could have cracked your skull open with mine! Don't do that when you're so close to me!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry…I didn't mean to…" She whispered, frightened and still shocked by the sound of his head hitting the ground next to hers. She had never been that close before, and she had no doubts that he was right when he said that he could have cracked open her skull. She should have known he hit the ground hard, after all he sometimes left rather deep impressions in the ground, but it still shocked her.

"Well if you didn't mean to then why did ya?"

"I just…I panicked…"

"Why? Because I touched you? Is whatever Myoga told you so bad that you're scared of me now or something?"

"I'm not…scared. I'm just kinda, well, nervous I guess."

"Nervous huh? Well, I hate to break it to ya Kagome, but you're gonna to have to tell me what the fuck is going on. Because I need to know why you're acting so damn skittish."

She sighed, knowing what he was asking for was only fair, but she really didn't want to have to go into it. "Uh…he…he said some things about the blood-sharing, and what it meant."

"Oh he did, did he? And what _exactly_ did he tell you?" Inuyasha sounded pretty pissed.

"Um…well…he said that marriage for demons was called mating. And he talked a little bit about how that was more… I guess binding?"

"Is that what freaked you out? The thought of being stuck with me for the rest of your life?" The anger had drained and was replaced by sadness in Inuyasha's voice. Even as muffled as it was by the grass the shift was distinctive to Kagome.

"No! Not at all. I already told you that I wanted to be with you didn't I?"

"Well stop beating around the bush then! Geez, it's like pulling teeth getting an answer out of you. Just spit it out already!" He was back to being cranky.

Kagome flushed, not even having the wherewithal to find it funny that he had voiced what she had thought about him just the other day. "B-well, uh…that is…I mean….um….well, h-he said a few things about…uh…well…a few things…that, it sounded like he was talking about…."

"Would you hurry it up?!"

"Gah! Give me a minute! I'm trying to figure out how to say it!"

"Stop thinking about it so much and just say it already!" Inuyasha barked, seriously sounding frustrated.

"I…well, he mentioned a few things like…claiming and uh stuff like that. But he refused to explain it past that. I was pretty much fine with all the other stuff. I mean it made sense that demons of different species need to combine their blood to … you know…have babies and whatnot, and you'd already pretty much explained that anyways. He did say that we had only completed the blood sharing part and not the … mating ceremony, whatever that is. But he said it seems like you already considered us as, uh, mated, which he explained was pretty much like marriage, so that helped to explain why you said what you did. But…well…actually now that I think about it I don't really know why you already think of us as mated since apparently we haven't even completed that part of the ceremony. Plus I don't really know what a "mating ceremony" is in the first place."

"Okay…so those unanswered questions are the only thing bugging you?"

"Well yeah, I guess…"

"Then it's not. Keep talking."

"Geez, so rude." Kagome grumbled, but at a rather demanding growl from the still prostrate Inuyasha she decided to continue, not really because the growl intimidated her, but more because it made her feel sorry for him, stuck on the ground like that. "Fine…Yeah. Not knowing why you feel that way bugs me, and not knowing what the "mating ceremony" is bugs me, but it was mostly the other stuff he said that's been bothering me."

"Well, let's hear it then."

"Stop rushing me!"

"I would if you'd just talk already!" He snapped, and finally managed to peel himself from the ground.

The movement had Kagome scooting backwards and a zing of nerves had that knee-jerk reaction sitting on the tip of her tongue. Inuyasha could apparently see the "sitting" potential rising, and since they were pretty close it was a very simple matter for him to lunge in her direction, topple her backwards and get himself above her. He sat right next to her, leaning his upper body over hers but otherwise not touching her aside from the brief shove that had sent her on her back.

"I-Inuyasha! W-What are you doing?!" Kagome sputtered, trying to inch her way out from under the looming shadow of a very frustrated half-demon.

"Hey! Get back here Kagome! Don't make me hold you down, 'cause I will! You ain't moving an inch until you spill and tell me whatever the heck's got you so damn flustered!"

She froze, knowing him well enough to know he wouldn't hesitate to pin her to the ground if it meant getting what he wanted, and with him above her like he was there was absolutely no way for her to "sit" him without risking him being "sat" right onto her, which would hurt a lot, as had been noted just a few minutes prior. Myoga's warning words of avoiding any abnormal contact and not pushing him too hard also rang through her head, and she flinched, drawing even more attention from the piercing golden eyes staring down at her.

The situation really only left her the option of giving him what he wanted.

She crossed her arms, scowled, flushed, and looked off to the side, grumbling, "Fine…" She paused to think about what exactly she should tell him. She had already mentioned the first few things, but not really any of the stuff that was bothering her the most. It was all so embarrassing though…

A growl from above warned that she was running out of time and so she just decided to go ahead and try to spit it out. "I…uh, well like I said, he mentioned…claiming, but also something about … mating instincts … like dominating and stuff, and he wouldn't explain that, saying he didn't want to "scare me off." That didn't sound really good. And he also wouldn't discuss what … "mating" really meant, although I have a pretty good idea…" She muttered the last bit under her breath, but then added, "Although I honestly don't know. He was talking about you losing control and potentially hurting me and all kinds of crazy things."

She forced a laugh. "I kinda assumed he was being typical Myoga and over-exaggerating things as usual…because it sure sounded like he was talking about … well … uh, rape or something. None of it makes sense and it doesn't seem at all like … well, like anything you'd do. I mean not that I would ever think you would hurt me or anything! I meant the other stuff… like even the mating thing … I can't imagine why you would want to basically get married to me."

She laid there, her arms crossed and blushing like a tomato, pouting and feeling kind of surly in general about being forced to admit to such embarrassing things.

It took a long time for her to get up enough courage to peek up at him out of the corner of her eye, and she noted that he wasn't leaning over her anymore, but was instead looking off to the side himself. He seemed deep in thought, and judging from the red tinge to his cheeks he was also embarrassed by what she had divulged.

After a long moment he gave a big sigh, one that sounded pretty exasperated, and he turned his eyes back to hers. She sat up, not overly comfortable with holding a conversation while flat on her back.

"Sheesh…I really am gonna kill that little pest." He eventually grumbled.

Kagome didn't have anything to say about that and so she just patiently waited to see if he had anything to say.

With another grumpy huff he said, "Alright. Guess I don't have a choice now… I'll tell you what I know, but I don't wanna tell you all the details about the ceremonies."

"Why?"

"Because they're secret! Humans generally aren't involved with demon business ya know!" He barked, and Kagome startled, not having ever thought about that.

"Plus…" He added, grimacing, "There's really no reason for you to know any details unless you decide you want to … well … anyways." He cleared his throat, flushing and scowling.

"So basically, unless I agree to go through with any of these ceremony things, I'm not really supposed to know the details?"

He shrugged. "Basically. Anyways, you'd probably find them foreign, and I don't want anything to affect whatever decision you might make."

He had his hands in his sleeves and was sitting cross-legged, looking off to the side in discomfort probably, but he also seemed sort of sad or melancholy, like he didn't really expect Kagome to ever want to participate in any of these ceremonies. Kagome sat there thinking about what he had told her so far. It made sense. If they were odd, or simply something she wasn't used to, it might color her opinion. Whereas if she could just accept that it was demon stuff and not push the envelope, then whenever it came time for her to do any of them maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal. And if it was something to dread then maybe it was better off that she simply didn't know.

It brought up all kinds of questions…new ones that didn't really scare her so much as open her eyes. If this was truly real … if she honestly had a shot at being with Inuyasha then would she go for it? Would she be with him, knowing that he was a demon and apparently that meant that being a couple included all this other stuff? Why hadn't this been brought up sooner?

"Hey Inuyasha? Why hasn't this come up before? I mean I know we weren't exactly a couple, but … I mean I always thought that demon/human relationships were just as simple as human relationships. Are you really saying that to be in a "boyfriend/girlfriend" kind of relationship, demons have to jump through all these hoops?"

He cocked his head and his ears twitched as he looked back at her, obviously confused by something. "Uh, boyfriend? Girlfriend? What's that?"

Kagome couldn't help but laugh. "Oh right! That's something we say in my era. I guess it's…hm, what would the equivalent be here? Uh, it's like when a boy and a girl go on dates…" At his even more confused expression she elaborated, "They go get things to eat, look at the stars, have picnics, you know…romantic stuff. Candles and flowers and whatnot. It's when you're a couple but aren't engaged to be married, all the stuff before that. When you're in a serious relationship, like, committed to each other and aren't seeing anyone else."

His ears pricked and his eyes brightened with understanding. "Courting! That's what you're talking about. Course the humans do it differently than us demons, but there are some similarities. Getting a potential mate food, showing her nice places, maybe even somewhere for a future den…yeah, I think I understand."

"Wait, hold on. This courting thing does sound similar, but in my era it can last for years. I mean, sometimes people don't even get married, they just live together. You can be in a committed relationship for years before marriage is ever mentioned, so it's not really something that inevitably follows."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Close enough though. I've heard of couples courting for years before mating…or, ah, marrying. At any rate, yeah, none of this stuff is necessary to just be in a relationship. It's just…we sort of skipped that step since we already shared blood."

Kagome blinked. "Oh. But we haven't done this mating ceremony thing right?"

"Yeah…no." He snorted. "You'd know if we had, believe me."

"That doesn't make it sound very good you know." Kagome pointed out.

"Don't get me wrong. It's not that it's bad or nothin'! It's just very … involved I guess is the best word for it. It's something that would require you to know what was going on and have you agree to it. So you'd definitely know if it had happened…that's all I meant."

It sounded suspiciously like he was scrambling for an explanation, but Kagome decided to let it slide. "Okaaaay, so back to the question. If we haven't done that then why do you consider us mated? Or do you consider us mated…I guess I haven't exactly asked that either."

Inuyasha flushed and looked down, averting his eyes as his ears went slightly sideways. "Uh…yeah…. I guess that's stupid since we're technically not…but…I had to make a choice with the blood-sharing. I could have probably done it a different way, but, that way felt most natural. I didn't want to risk doing it different and having you become my slave or something … I've heard of that but I have no idea how it works. I mean…what I'm trying to say is…when I chose to share my blood with you in that particular way, it wasn't the mating ceremony, but it still tied us together…and I…well, I just can't seem to think of you any other way now is all."

"So…if it hadn't been for that then you wouldn't have ever thought of me as more than a friend?" Kagome asked, feeling like she had already asked something similar but unable to stop herself.

He huffed. "You sure are dumb Kagome. I wouldn't have done it in the first place if I didn't already feel that way about you."

She stiffened at the insult and then forgot about it entirely at the cranky confession. "Oh…"

After a long pause he heaved a sigh. "There was other stuff you were freaked out about right? Uh…oh, in terms of claiming, that's sort of a part of the mating ceremony. It's just kind of where one demon announces that the other is their mate, so they "claim" the other as their own…sort of. It's also something that gets repeated a lot."

"In a human marriage we kiss each other at the end to "seal the deal" as it were, and of course married couples kiss all the time after that…so is it sort of similar to that?" Kagome offered, trying to help him explain while not giving away too much since apparently he wasn't supposed to.

He nodded, "Yeah, that sounds pretty close. Let's see, what was the other stuff? Uh…Mating instincts are just basically urges that a demon has towards his or her mate. Like… well I guess attraction and shit like that. Usually there's a lot of emphasis on having kids…but obviously that's not really something I'm interested in at the moment. Maybe someday after we defeat Naraku…. But anyways, so yeah … mating instincts … urges like … wanting to claim your mate for the first time…to be able to say that they're yours and no one else's, and vice versa … the other stuff isn't very explainable."

"So … uh … if you consider us mated … then you want … I mean, you feel these … instincts?" Kagome managed to ask haltingly, flushing about a million and one shades of red.

His head swung around and he scowled at her, his eyes molten gold and heated with something she wasn't entirely sure was all frustration. "Well duh…" He growled.

She jumped and then swallowed, not expecting such an intense reaction. "R-really? Uh…t-that's good to know." She cleared her throat. "So…could you tell me more about it? I still don't really understand…"

He expelled a bunch of hot air in an aggravated huff and rolled his eyes, looking like he was trying to figure out what the hell to tell her. "I dunno Kagome. Like I said, it's hard to describe. Maybe the easiest way to explain is that I just feel … extra protective. Like I need to be around you all the time to make sure you don't get hurt…or kidnapped… _again_." He sent her a squinty eyed look and she grimaced, shrugging to say she didn't know why the heck she got kidnapped so much.

He sighed again and continued. "And beyond that…I just wanna be around you more. I wanna…be closer. I hate it when you ride on Kilala, I like that closeness, feeling your warmth and stuff. I like … I mean … well, physical contact is sort of … a big part of it I guess. It's damn irritating actually…how much I want that…" The last bit was nearly inaudible, but Kagome was sure she'd heard it correctly, but he continued before she could get too flustered. "Plus, I feel kinda uneasy when I don't know where you are…like there's something missing. It's worse when you go back home, all my instincts shout at me that you've left this world. Even when you're a mile away, or two, or a hundred, when you're here I can still somehow…sense you. I can feel that you're still here, still alive, somehow. But when you're over there it feels like you're dead and everything inside of me just sort of … screams. Dunno… it sounds weird I know. And there's some stuff I just ain't gonna talk about so that's all you're getting Kagome."

After a pause in which Kagome tried to absorb that information, she stuttered, "O-oh. I had no idea."

He snorted and muttered under his breath, "Yeah, no shit."

"Hey! How was I supposed to know if you didn't tell me?!"

"You really goin' there after I spent the last hour yanking information outta you?"

Kagome wilted. "Eh…good point."

He huffed a laugh.

After a bit, Kagome tucked a stray bit of hair that was blowing in her face behind her ear and asked, "So…now what? Where does this leave us?"

He shrugged. "I've told you how I feel about it. I've decided that you're my … uh … well I guess you could say girlfriend. That's the word right?"

Kagome flushed and nodded, starry eyed.

"Yeah…well. I think of you as my mate, but you can think of it however you want. Girlfriend, wife, mate…it's all the same anyway. But I have no idea how you think of me. I mean, technically you're none of that unless you agree to it, so I'm…well…" He heaved a sigh and muttered, "…fuck."

Kagome blinked, and then snickered, unable to help herself. He glared at her.

"Sorry." She waved a hand at him in a placating manner. "I couldn't help it. I'm not really used to you being so cute."

He blushed and humphed, "Huh," and turned his head. What sold it was the way his ears slid sideways and cockeyed on his head, looking so uncomfortable she wanted to snuggled him almost immediately.

She knew he hadn't said the L-word, so she didn't intend to drop that bomb either, but she could at least solidify this thing between them. She had been waiting for this opportunity for … months probably, and there was no way she wasn't going to jump at the chance to be with him. And he was talking about a lot more than she had ever hoped for, this wasn't just a simple girlfriend/boyfriend thing, this was closer to marriage! Yes, it was scary as all get out, but she knew with every single fiber of her being that she loved Inuyasha…and she had no doubts that he was that special someone that she would always love, even if she had left this world and moved on and married someone in her own world (which is what she kinda assumed would happen before this whole thing came to light). She had always known that she would miss him and want to be with him, even in that scenario.

So she was going to do this, even with all the scary, weird demon stuff. After all, he was a demon, and she loved all sides of him, full demon, half-demon, those few nights where he was all-human, she loved every bit of him. Even the annoying bits that made her 'sit' him on a daily basis.

And so she reached out and took his droopier ear in her fingers, giving it a gentle tug to get his attention. His eyes flew up to hers, wide in shock.

"Yes, Inuyasha. Of course I want to be your girlfriend. Or mate…or whatever you want to call it. I want to be with you…even if I have to do weird ceremonies and stuff."

He blinked up at her, the wide golden eyes glassy with disbelief. She took his discombobulated state as an opportunity to play with the ear in her grasp, which was something she had been secretly longing to do. She absolutely loved his cute fluffy ears, ever since that first time when she had been unable to stop herself from touching them. And she hadn't been able to touch them like this since that first time, but oh she had wanted to.

So she switched her attention to her hand and gave the fluffy white back of his ear a gentle scratch before lightly rubbing around the base. Then she slid her thumb inside the white triangle and rubbed it from both sides, with her fingers at the back and her thumb on the inside.

She was distracted from her exploration, which was nearly addictive, when a low pitched, unsteady voice drew her attention back down to Inuyasha's face. One of his eyes was narrowed, the one under the ear in her fingers, and surprisingly a pink color stained his cheeks.

"C-Could you stop doing that?" He asked.

Her fingers froze but didn't move away. "Oh. I'm sorry, does that not feel good or something?"

"Th-that's…no, that's n-not really the problem here, Kagome…" he whined, a tone that she hadn't ever heard in his voice before.

She blinked, having a really evil thought and wanting to test it. She watched his face closely and experimentally gave his ear another gentle rub. The response was immediate. He almost seemed to flinch and then he positively melted, his head drooping a little in her direction. Judging by his tightly scrunched eyes he was fighting it though, and it was likely due to embarrassment considering how red his face was.

He also protested verbally, a deep whine coming from his throat and then he sputtered, "K-kagome!" in a way that was obviously meant as a complaint, but only made her want to continue.

It was cute and sexy at the same time, and she simply didn't quite know what to do with herself. She quickly found herself getting addicted to the expressions he was making, the way he was trying to glare at her but was failing spectacularly what with the heavy lids and super dilated pupils, the hotter and hotter pink dusting his cheeks, the slight twitches and grimaces that were obviously not from pain whenever she did something he particularly liked, it was all great. The sounds that seemed half-protests, half-moans and whines of pleasure only made it better.

"I'm pretty sure I've touched your ears before…how is it that you've never reacted like this?" She asked, getting a half-hearted growl in instant reply.

"N-never like this…s-seriously Kagome, could you s-stop?"

"Why? You seem to like it." She teased, unable to help herself, and tried swirling her thumb in a teasing circle inside his ear.

His eyes shot open and he growled, "That's the fucking problem!" At the same time his hand snapped up and grabbed her wrist, yanking her hand away from his ear.

She laughed. "I do believe I've found your weakness Inuyasha!"

He just glared at her.

"Oh come on…what's the problem? That felt good right?"

He growled in response and continued to glare.

She just chuckled and shrugged, letting it go for now and tucking the knowledge away for a later date.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hey folks! Sorry about the slight delay on this one. But it'll be worth it I promise; I'm extending and expanding this story to be longer.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys the update and the new information on what's going on. Since I'm expanding, if anyone has any ideas they'd like me to try and fit in, feel free to write it in a review. I make no promises about being able to actually get it in the story, but ya never know until ya try. :D

Thanks to all my lovely reviewers out there, you're the reason I keep posting and try to post as regularly as possible. Hugs and kisses to all of you!

Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter out a wee bit faster than this one, everyone cross their fingers!


	11. Chapter 11

Things continued on normally for the next few weeks, demon hunting and shard finding being top priority. Inuyasha and Kagome were on excellent terms though, and the only real change was the way they seemed to not have as many fights and how Inuyasha stuck super extra close to Kagome. Naturally the others took note of this, and after a lot of teasing and questions they finally figured out that Kagome and Inuyasha were now officially a couple, which was met with much encouragement and congratulations.

So things continued on quite pleasantly. They continued their typical pattern of going after any hint of the jewel, and when there weren't any hints available they just nearly aimlessly wandered the roads in pursuit of the next tip. Inuyasha and Kagome still got into arguments, though less frequently, and Miroku continued to go after every available young woman with Sango breathing down his neck like an angry dragon. Shippō continued doing his thing, just being cute and a bit of a pest, especially when it came to Inuyasha. He particularly liked to mess with Inuyasha these days, apparently rather jealous now that Kagome's attention was taken up more by the white eared young man.

One day, as they passed by a farming village they were waylaid by a boy shouting, "Help! My Grandpa!"

Blinking, the others watched, somewhat surprised, as Inuyasha leapt to the rescue. It became clear however, that Inuyasha had been more interested in the potential of a demon, and not so much helping a human. He was highly displeased when he found out that the problem was simply the elderly man falling and being unable to get up.

Judging by his thoroughly unamused expression and the pounding blood vessel in his temple as he gave the old man a piggy back ride to the stranger's village, Inuyasha was not overly pleased by the way the situation had gone.

Kagome found that she had to restrain herself from laughing at his sour expression, and made a mental note to do something nice to make it up to him. An extra cup of ramen from home the next time she went to visit should suffice, she mused as they continued on down the road. Conveniently, the old man and his grandson lived in a village on the way, so they had no need to alter their course.

Despite being able to control her amusement over the faces Inuyasha was making on the way there, she found herself utterly incapable of preventing herself from giggling hysterically as the young boy gave Inuyasha his "treasure" in thanks, which turned out to be a dried up snake skin.

"So what're you gonna do with that, Inuyasha?" She teased, and he sent her a slanty eyed glare.

"If you're not careful, I'll tie it around your neck like a frigging necklace." He growled.

She snickered. Despite the rather violent words, that particular growl had been a playful one, and she recognized his particular brand of joking at work. _Still … ew_ , she thought and grimaced after a second. "That's nasty, Inuyasha! I don't want a snake skin around my neck; they carry salmonella!"

"Sama-whosits?" Inuyasha questioned, cocking his head and looking back at her.

She just heaved a sigh. "Oh never mind."

The snake skin ended up going to Shippō in the end, which the young fox demon was very happy about, and for a few minutes it seemed the incident had been barely a noticeable burp in their day's plans. However, that all changed when Inuyasha slammed on the brakes and lifted his nose to the wind.

Recognizing the signs they all froze as well, watching him carefully and waiting for him to say what he had picked up.

"I smell human blood…a lot of it." He finally growled, his nose curling in disgust.

Seeing smoke rising from the village they had just come from, they did an abrupt about-face and hustled back down the road the way they had come.

Close to the village they ran into the young boy from earlier, staggering down the path towards them, an arrow in his shoulder.

"P-please…help, help my Grandpa…" he mumbled.

They all rushed towards the kid, and as he tumbled forwards as if to do a faceplant Sango caught him before he could hit the ground.

"Oh no!" She exclaimed, sounding highly distressed, and immediately Kagome knew she was thinking of her younger brother Kohaku, who was probably right around this young child's age.

"Take care of him Sango, we'll go and get to the bottom of this." Miroku said firmly, and they all took off at Sango's equally firm nod. She was perfectly capable of treating the boy's injuries; she had a very potent healing salve tucked up under one of her shoulder pads. Kilala stayed to help protect Sango in case any of the expected demons came this far.

So, the rest of them continued on, Shippō also deciding to hang back with Sango and tend to the boy.

Soon they came upon the village, or at least, what was left of the village. Much of it had been burned to the ground, and many of the men had already been slain, leaving the women in a huddled bunch. Surprisingly, at first glance it appeared to be a case of simple bandits, an exceptionally large gang of them in fact, but soon Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kagome could all sense the presence of a demon amongst them.

"Oi! Which one of you is the leader?" Inuyasha barked, sending a wave of power at them from his Tessaiga to make sure they were paying attention.

After a brief moment a man stepped forward from the bunch, and Kagome had to blink a few times in surprise. He was awfully pretty for a demon, or for any male really, and he was wearing red lipstick of all things. If it weren't for the huge ax he wielded, Kagome would have made some assumptions about him she probably shouldn't, and she gave herself a mental shake to remember never to underestimate demons … even ones who wore makeup.

He stepped forwards and he and Inuyasha predictably traded insults. It came to a head when Inuyasha lost his patience, as per usual, and leapt at the guy with only his yelling, "Oh will you shut up already?!" as a warning.

Their two weapons collided with an almighty sound and after a brief moment of sparks flying and the godawful screeching of metal scraping against metal the ax gave way to the Tessaiga.

"Well now…that _is_ a sharp blade you possess, Little Man." The demon said, his red mouth forming a disgustingly beautiful smirk. Kagome was offended by how pretty he was, given his terrible personality; he didn't deserve looks like that. Then again, that was pretty accurate to her world too, the most beautiful people tended to be the stuck up pop stars and movie stars.

As Inuyasha and this guy traded blows she couldn't help but imagine him posing for cameras, flashing smiles as he one-handedly tried to fend off an infuriated Inuyasha in the background. The fantasy was complete with sparkles and roses flying everywhere and Kagome held back a snicker, figuring her train of thought was probably inappropriate for such a serious situation.

"Heh, like I'd be beaten by a Cretan like you!" Inuyasha bellowed as he slashed at him, sending spirals of power that knocked the enemy off balance.

"I like this sword more and more! In fact, I believe I will have it. Hand over your sword, Little Man!"

Inuyasha gave him a look, totally offended by the suggestion that he would ever consider handing over his Tessaiga. "Yeah sure, like hell I will!"

"If you won't hand it over then I will just take it by force!" So saying he spat some nasty looking yellow mist into the air, streaming right at Inuyasha's face.

He yelped as it glanced off his cheek, most of it deflected by a swing of the Tessaiga. Almost instantly his skin bubbled on that cheek and Kagome watched, horrified as the top layer of skin seemed to fall off, dissolving midair and exposing a raw bloody sore, which was bubbling still at the edges in a truly disgusting manner.

The wound had shocked and distracted Inuyasha just enough, and when he was attacked next he was slightly clumsy in his parry, leaving him open. The demon took advantage and sliced his large ax right across Inuyasha's middle, cutting deeply and Kagome winced, feeling a shadow pain echo in her own gut as she couldn't help but imagine the sensation of the sharp blade cutting across her own stomach.

"Inuyasha!" She screamed, and then screamed again when she saw the demon fill his cheeks and prepare to spit again.

Both she and Miroku saw the weird webbing shoot out of the demon's mouth, and immediately started running as fast as they could towards Inuyasha. The silky yellowish strands were fizzing and popping and it was quite clear that they were toxic, but that fact was only made clearer as one managed to hit Kagome on the shoulder. She hissed at the burning feeling, but was more upset by it cutting the strap of her quiver. Not having time to turn back and gather her scattered arrows, she was left with only her bow. The monk and priestess reached Inuyasha with only seconds to spare and both activated barriers, Kagome with her bow and Miroku with his staff.

The poison silk didn't stop wrapping around them, and despite trying their hardest they were unable to stop it from completely wrapping around them, bundling them tightly together as they kept their barrier in place. It was snug quarters, Kagome ending up facing a crouched Inuyasha with Miroku hunched over behind him.

"Shit…" Inuyasha grunted, and they both trained their attention to him.

"Are you okay, Inuyasha?" Miroku inquired.

Kagome didn't bother to ask; she could see for herself that he wasn't okay since she could clearly see the wound spanning his torso. It was fizzing and bubbling as well and she felt her stomach clench and nearly threw up on his white head. It was bleeding way too much, the front of his fire rat robe having a blooming and growing stain. Normally he would have stopped bleeding by now, unless he had been severely wounded on top of being weakened, as he had with Kagura several months ago. But this time he wasn't close to being as badly injured, even though he had been only hit once. It had to be the poison, and based on his face it was very painful.

Still, he grunted, "Course I'm fine, I'll cut us outta here, no problem…"

He lurched forwards, as if he was intending to attempt a jail break right then and there, but then his eyes popped open wide and he slumped, a pained hiss escaping between his gritted teeth.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked worriedly, putting a hand on his shoulder, her other still firmly on her bow.

"Can't- can't move…" He groaned, and right about then the cocoon seemed to grow strangely translucent in on spot and they saw the form of the demon behind it.

"I am surprised that you are all still intact. Ah, a barrier, how interesting. Still, it won't last long, and that wound across your chest, Little Man, will have paralyzed you. My poison has entered your bloodstream by now. There is no escape."

Chuckling evilly, the demon turned away and attempted to take the Tessaiga from one of his minions, only to jerk back when it sparked angrily.

He turned furiously back to the trapped trio and demanded, "Why can I not wield your sword?"

Inuyasha chuckled raspily. "Well, that's the thing see…my Tessaiga is pretty choosy about its master and it wouldn't let a fucker like you within a mile of it."

It didn't take long for the enemy to put two and two together, especially since one of his human henchmen had already picked it up, and soon he was laughing nearly manically. "I see! You, a mere half-demon thought to take me on, the great demon Gatenmaru! How rich!"

Inuyasha was less than pleased and they heard a deep snarl come from his chest as he glared out of the front of the cocoon at the enemy. If looks could kill this guy would have been dissolving right now. Even Kagome felt a slight itchy urge to move out of the path of that deadly stare.

Stuck as they were, there wasn't anything they could do though, and the enemy rather pompously sat on a nearby stump, acting as though it was a throne, and said, "Well, I believe I'll just sit here and watch the show as you all eventually melt away to nothing. In the meantime, bring the women!"

They watched, impotent to do anything as he grabbed one of the women brought to him. She squeaked, obviously terrified.

He snickered and silkily asked, "Frightened?"

Then, Kagome herself flinched and a small sound of shock and horror escaped her along with the woman's scream as his tongue slid out of his mouth, getting longer and longer, and then with a lunging motion it embedded itself in her throat. Kagome choked, her face twisting as she witnessed the horrific murder.

"Oh my god…that poor woman…"

She shuddered, turning away from the terrifying and nauseating sight, and was met with a different kind of frightening scene. She was now staring into red and teal eyes, and she gasped. But it only took the length of one gasp for Inuyasha's eyes to switch back to their normal gold and he winced, grunting.

"Oh no…the Tessaiga…" Kagome whispered, realizing something very important.

Inuyasha no long had the Tessaiga, and as they knew from what Totosai had told them, if he became separated from the Tessaiga there was a risk of him turning full demon and being overwhelmed by the potent demon blood inside of him. That was why they had gone to the old absentminded sword smith in the first place when Kagome needed a similar cap for her powers. And now, as they had been warned, the separation of Tessaiga during a battle situation meant Inuyasha was losing it.

Kagome had only ever seen him go full demon once before, when they had been fighting that manticore, and she hadn't been this close to him then. This was a much more dangerous situation.

As the next woman was brought forth she actually began to feel a strange pressure, one that she immediately recognized came from Inuyasha. Being so close, it was as if she could feel a throbbing in her own chest and stomach, hitting and then echoing like a very heavy bass beat, an incredibly strange rhythmic pulse of pure demon power coming from him now. It was still soft and his eyes were flickering back and forth as he desperately hung onto his composure.

"Miroku, hold the barrier!" Kagome demanded and she barely even waited for an affirmative grunt as she slung her bow over her shoulder to free both hands, sinking to her knees in front of Inuyasha and grabbing his face between her hands.

"Look at me!" His eyes flickered back and forth, not really focusing. "Look at me Inuyasha!" She repeated, shaking his head just a little with her hands. When his eyes finally seemed to clear for a second they met hers finally; pain, fear, and anger roiling within their golden depths.

"Ka-Kagome…I dunno how long I can…" He grunted, wincing as another pulse came from him.

Miroku thankfully stayed silent, but she could see in her peripheral vision his wide eyes and shocked face staring down at them from slightly above.

"You can. I know you can, Inuyasha." She said firmly, holding his gaze as his eyes flickered again. "Stay with me, Inuyasha, come on, fight it!"

Finally, his eyes seemed to clear and the pure golden irises met hers as the pulses mostly died down. He gulped and nodded, taking deep steadying breaths.

Unfortunately they were interrupted at that moment by Mr. Red Lips as he approached. Apparently his attention had been attracted by the activity going on in the cocoon.

"My, my … how sweet. So, this is your woman, Little Man?"

Kagome sent him a glare and a snarl over her shoulder, turning to crouch protectively in front of Inuyasha, which slightly backfired when instead he wrapped a shaky arm around her, holding her back against him and snarled over her shoulder, "Don't you even fucking look at her."

Kagome winced at the spark of interest that lit the guy's eyes, knowing immediately that Inuyasha had just made things a lot worse.

He smirked and then looked her over. "I see…like your sword you possess a fine woman. You have good taste, if nothing else, Half-Breed. And like your sword, you are not fit to own her."

Kagome barely had a chance to cuss as he reached through his own cocoon, snagged her arm, and yanked her out from Inuyasha's weak grip.

She barely was able to shield herself from the burning web, still getting a few singes here and there despite the pink energy emanating from her bow. Inuyasha meanwhile roared, and she could hear a great deal of hullabaloo and fussing going on behind the translucent cocoon. She heard Miroku talking to him in a serious, and pretty desperate, voice, probably trying to get him to stop wiggling around for fear of the barrier collapsing.

Grunting, Kagome had bigger immediate problems to worry about as Gatenmaru grabbed hold of her.

"Get your hands off me!" She demanded, getting her balance and immediately swinging her bow at full force in his face.

She had a brief glance of his shocked expression before a blast of spiritual power sent him flying off of her. The ease with which she hit him was probably due to his underestimating her, but she certainly wasn't complaining, it gave her the brief opportunity to try and find an arrow. Unfortunately, he regrouped before she could spot one, and he yelled, "Grab her!"

She felt hands snag her shoulders and she spun, giving one of the goons a solid kick in the shin and then smacked the other with her bow. They both let her go and she scampered back. Still, another wave of bandits descended in no time flat and she was quickly beating them off too, kneeing one in the pants and then stomping on his toes before throwing an elbow into the gut of the guy behind her. In her human form there wasn't as much as she could do without her arrows, but during her travels she had learned a thing or two about defending herself. She fended them off for a while but soon she was overwhelmed by their numbers and both her wrists were snagged and held tightly while another threw a chain around her legs and pulled it tight, immobilizing her.

She could hear more commotion going on in the cocoon and apparently the demon could too because he sent a malicious grin in that direction before waving his hand and making the front transparent to see the inside. Kagome glanced over and saw Inuyasha struggling to hold himself together while Miroku desperately struggled to keep the barrier up and running, bits of the cocoon already sneaking past and draping dangerously close to them.

Mister Fancy approached Kagome leisurely, dragging out the moment, and then cocked his head and looked her up and down. "Hmmm, what to do with you? First, to pay you back for that pleasant little love tap…"

Not given a chance to brace herself, the demon backhanded her in the face, making her gasp in shock and wince as she felt a ripping and popping sort of pain in her lip that said it had split. The taste of blood verified that and she spat a wad of it onto the ground to get it out of her mouth. His feet dodged the spit wad neatly, and then he grabbed her face in his hand and wrenched it up to look him in the eye.

"Now that that's out of the way, what shall we talk about?" He chuckled darkly, grinning, and his tongue slithered out to lick his lips. Kagome cringed, watching the slimy pink thing closely for any sign it was going to attack. To her relief it disappeared back inside his mouth.

"Rather eager aren't we? No, I don't think I will eat you just yet, after all, we have a little time to spare, and I'm sure it must be _deathly_ boring for your friend and lover trapped over there. We should give them some entertainment."

That didn't sound good and Kagome's nerves only mounted.

He grabbed the front of her slightly floral t-shirt, gave her another amused grin, and then yanked sharply, tearing it right down the middle in one rather painful move. She gasped, jerking forward in the goon's grips as the force yanked on her neck and shoulders, giving her some highly unpleasant cloth burns. The front of her shirt gaped open now, flapping in the breeze and not hiding her white lacy bra in the slightest, or the two necklaces dangling around her neck.

He immediately took interest in the Shikon jewel nestled between her breasts, but he wasn't given a chance to try and take it from her, because right around the time he had ripped her shirt there was an almighty roar that distracted him. The cocoon first expanded like a balloon, incapable of containing a fully incensed pure demon, and then red slashes appeared, carving it up like a thanksgiving turkey and it popped apart as easily as the aforementioned balloon.

Everyone's heads swung around at the sound and explosion, and Kagome was relieved to see that Miroku had been blown safely clear of the poisonous cocoon's remains as well as the dangerous demon now standing in its midst.

Inuyasha was no longer Inuyasha, he was a full-blooded demon and acted as such, his claws quickly slashing through the air and dealing death to anyone unfortunate enough to be within reach. Blood soon soaked the air and ground and his hands as he went on a rampage, running through the ranks of bandits and slicing them to bits left and right.

Kagome stood numbly watching the destruction, shocked by the carnage unfolding in front of her. She had never seen so much blood before, certainly never so much human blood, and it was terrifying. She cringed and had to look away as Inuyasha shoved his whole hand into one unlucky soul's gut, disemboweling him by yanking out his entrails. The sight made Kagome feel physically sick, and for a brief moment she almost threw up, especially as she heard the wet sound of first the organs hitting the ground and then the wet 'kerplop' of the body. That sound was repeated many times over, wet squelchy sounds that were almost worse than seeing the carnage making her gag over and over again. Inuyasha's running footsteps were now splashes as he puddle-stomped through the pools of blood soaking the ground.

She and her three captors stood still in the middle of the pandemonium. Apparently they were too shell shocked to move, and she couldn't entirely blame them for it. If she could have moved she wasn't entirely certain she would have actually been able to.

The demon who as so cocky before didn't look quite as cocky now, but he still had a smug smile plastered across his red lips. This time, when Inuyasha turned to give him the evil eye with his glowing red glare, Gatenmaru seemed to finally take him at least somewhat seriously and rather swiftly transformed into a giant blue moth. Kagome stared, surprised by the transformation and especially the truncated torso. He seemed to be all buff but then had no crotch or legs at all, and in any other situation she would have humorously wondered if that huge ax had been some sort of compensation for a lack of something else. As it was she was too numb with shock to really consider it.

Inuyasha barely spent any time at all on him. He crouched, and with a grin that bared his terrifyingly long fangs he leaped up and sliced the wings right off the large demon moth, leaving it to come crashing down to the ground. The large demon opened its maw and shot a huge stream of the poisonous cocooning material at Inuyasha.

When the toxic smoke cleared Gatenmaru chuckled, sounding relieved, and said, "Ah, I knew it! He was just a weak half-breed after all."

"You talkin' to me?" Inuyasha snarled from midair, and Kagome was shocked by the sound of his voice. It was deep, and sounded more like an animal's growl than a human's voice. It was a raspy snarl that she found surprisingly kind of … attractive in a weird way, but also pretty terrifying as well. These thoughts were all through a haze of shock and horror though, so it was hard to really know what she felt at the moment.

"Shut up and die, Vermin…" He continued in that growling tone and he dropped through the air and sliced the moth demon from head to toe.

Kagome winced and flinched back as bits and pieces of the demon's body began to rain down and she closed her eyes at the sight of it.

They quickly snapped open again though, at Miroku's shouted warning. "Kagome! Watch out!"

Her eyes opened to see herself face to face with Inuyasha now, and a true skitter of fear ran down her spine at the look.

The bandits that held her both began to shiver in terror and one of them shoved her forwards, making her stumble at the unexpected push.

"Here! Here's your woman! Spare us please!"

Inuyasha's eyes flicked to the three behind her and he just grinned maliciously, flashing those unnatural fangs again, his eyes lighting up. Kagome gasped and did a faceplant into the dirt to avoid the blades of blood that sailed over her head, slicing into the men behind her. She winced, crying out as she heard their screams and felt hot blood spatter her legs.

Scrambling to hands and knees she cautiously looked up, to see that Inuyasha had disappeared from in front of her. She froze. She could feel him nearby, could feel his eyes on her. Very slowly she turned her head, looking over her shoulder to see that he was now behind her, practically standing over her in fact.

She sucked in a sharp breath, staying very still.

She felt chills racing down her spine, all her hair stood up on end, and she ceased to breathe entirely. The whole bandit army had been dispatched, so now she was left on her own here with him. She could only hope that Miroku would stay silent wherever he was, because if he tried to interfere he'd probably get them both killed.

She stayed firmly on her knees, her head turned ever so slightly so she could see him out of the corner of her eye. When he began slowly, ever so slowly leaning forwards, she stiffened, fighting the instinct to run.

There were several options here that she could see happening here. The best option would be for him to snap out of it now that there were no more enemies. However … if he stayed like this, then bad things would inevitably happen. He could either kill her, or this situation might end up in the kind of predicament that Myoga had warned her about, with him raping her.

At the moment she couldn't 'sit' him, he was too close and would probably flatten her if she did. So, all she could do was stay perfectly still as he crouched behind her and still sort of over her. She refrained herself from flinching when she felt his hot breath on the back of her neck. The stakes were raised as she suddenly saw and felt his hand come around to her front, heading for the Shikon jewel, and his teeth closed on the chains at the back of her neck.

Now she had to do something, she couldn't just sit here and let his full demon self get the Shikon jewel. That would be pure disaster.

Her only chance here was to somehow get away from him enough that she could 'sit' him, and hopefully that would snap him out of it. So, with that thought in mind she bunched her leg muscles up under her, and then tried to spring forward, out from under him. His grip on the chains yanked her head back as they constricted around her neck, but she reached up to grab the jewel and prevent it from going anywhere. She heard a nasty grind and then the click of his teeth as he let go of the chains.

She almost managed to get away, but at the last minute Inuyasha snagged her ankle and slammed her to the ground. She gasped and then yelped as he started dragging her back, growling, "You're not getting away."

Throwing herself on her back, she used her free foot to try to kick him off, but that didn't work so well when he easily caught her other foot with his other hand. Now, she was on her back with her feet in his hands and his expression was not making her feel any better about the situation. A slow grin snuck across his lips, exposing fangs as he looked down at her, and she had the very unsettling feeling that it was more of a leer than anything else.

The look had her abruptly aware that she was only wearing a bra up top, for all intents and purposes, which had her arms automatically covering herself protectively. That didn't really help her downstairs where her skirt had fallen around her hips to expose her pink undies, but she didn't have time to worry too much about it. Looking around wildly she spied her bow just off to the side, near Inuyasha's hip. To get it she would have to essentially throw herself at him, and that would either result in her getting sliced to bits, or else her something that she really didn't want happening while he was a demon with bloody claws, or while they were in a blood soaked battlefield, or in the presence of Miroku.

She forced herself not to think too hard about it, because she only had a short window of opportunity. As soon as he leaned down over her she'd be done for; she _had_ to do it now when he was sitting up on his haunches. So, she lunged, using the muscles in her groin and his grip on her feet to pull herself up quickly along with pushing her hands into the ground. Normally such a maneuver would have knocked him off balance, but in his current state he just shifted back on his heels a little to compensate and she slammed into him. Her hand immediately went to the ground and she threw herself sideways. Her fingers snagged the tip of her bow right as his hands released her feet and instead one went into her hair to yank her back upright while the other arm wrapped around her. Both left smears of red across her skin where they touched and she cringed and gagged, feeling the sticky moisture and smelling the strong scent of blood.

He was going for the second option it seemed. That was good for her because it meant she might have a chance, but she was going to have to do it fast before he could actually rape her, which she had no doubts he was capable of at the moment. While she pulled up her bow she felt his fangs scrape over her skin, latching onto the front of her bra and also the jewel.

She hissed, packed as much spiritual power as she possibly could into the bow and then slammed it as hard as she could into the side of his head given the awkward position. He was knocked back and she loaded the bow again with spiritual power before smacking him and managing to toss him back on his ass this time, freeing her to scramble back. Right as he was straitening himself and looked like he was about to lunge, she got enough space to yell "SI-"

The short word was interrupted though as his head whipped around to look off field somewhere.

There stood Sesshomaru, looking at the two of them and taking in Inuyasha's fully demonic appearance.

He said very little, only, "Come, Inuyasha. Attack. I wish to test these powers of yours"

That was all it took for Inuyasha to bolt towards his brother, all thoughts of her apparently blown out of his mind by the strong demonic presence.

A truly vicious battle commenced, one which had Inuyasha sprouting wounds everywhere as he went up against Sesshomaru's powerful new sword. He didn't seem to feel it, or see the blood spattering the ground around his feet as he threw himself mindlessly at his older brother over and over again. Kagome stood on the sidelines as close as she could without risk of getting caught in the crossfire. She had tied her shirt closed in the front absentmindedly to at least give herself a modicum of modesty, but the fact that her entire midriff and a good amount of her chest was on display barely registered with her as she watched anxiously. Miroku, who had quickly joined her once the coast was clear, also watched the unfolding battle on the sidelines.

The final blast sent Inuyasha flying through the air and he landed with a grunt in the dirt, skidding a good ways before finally coming to a halt. As Sesshomaru approached, Kagome snatched up Tessaiga, having found it in the field a little while before, and ignored Miroku's words of warning as she dashed forwards, her arrows shoved down the back of her shirt.

She skidded to a stop in front of Inuyasha, dropping his Tessaiga on his unconscious body before turning to face Sesshomaru. Miroku also dashed forwards and came to stand beside Inuyasha.

"Not another step!" She said firmly, notching an arrow and pulling back the string to aim at Inuyasha's older brother. He stopped and stared at her and then a slightly puzzled expression crossed his face. He sniffed the air and then his eyes narrowed.

"I smell Inuyasha's blood."

"Well duh, it's spattered all around us!" Kagome said, sort of exasperated.

He took a step closer. "I smell his blood…in _you_."

She froze, not realizing he would be able to tell with her fang necklace still around her neck. Taking a deep breath she calmed herself and kept the arrow pointed at him. "Okay, and your point is?"

He frowned and looked her up and down, his eyes pausing on the fang necklace he could see peeking out from under the knot in the front of her shirt. "I see. I knew Inuyasha had also taken a liking to humans… but I never would have thought he would go this far."

Kagome bristled. "Excuse me? I believe it's his business who he decides to be with if ya don't mind!"

"He brings shame to our father's blood that he possesses; mating with a human … even father didn't go that far."

"Oh yeah? I heard he shared his blood with her."

Sesshomaru frowned, a rare show of emotion, and it didn't bode well. "Perhaps, but he never was mated to her. To actually mate a human is shameful."

Now Kagome was ticked off. "Well I think it's shameful for you to behave so badly Sesshomaru! Holding such an old grudge when it's obviously not what your father would have wanted, how immature _are_ you anyway?"

Miroku hissed and whispered urgently, "Kagome! You're going to get us killed!"

Miroku was right, that last comment got Sesshomaru seriously angry, and he sent a slashing blade of yellow light towards her, not actually hitting but popping dangerously close to her face. "Silence! Know your place, Woman!"

Kagome knew when she had overstepped her boundaries, and this was quickly turning into a worse situation. With Inuyasha out like he was, there was no way she could take on Sesshomaru by herself, so she forced herself to hold her tongue.

After a very tense moment, in which it seemed that Sesshomaru was deciding whether or not to kill her, he finally put his sword away. Then, without a word he turned and walked away, leaving in his weird silent, way that he had, which always seemed to give the impression that he believed you to be beneath his attention.

There was a communal sigh of relief as he left and then they were both distracted as Inuyasha grunted and awoke. Turning, Kagome saw with great relief that his eyes were back to normal, and he winced, trying to sit up.

"Kago-me? Wha-what happened?" He groaned.

She hurried to help him. "Wait, don't sit up! Just stay down for now."

He didn't listen, instead standing and looking around in shock at the destruction laid out before him "Did-did I do all this?"

"You don't remember?" Kagome asked softly.

He gritted his teeth. "…No."

There was a shocked silence. Then he looked down at his claws. "Huh…look at me…my claws dripping in blood…."

As they glanced up, they noticed how all the villagers were huddled, staring at Inuyasha with fear in their eyes … all of them, except for the old man from before. The grandfather to that young boy had managed to escape the raid with only bruises as wounds, since the bandits hadn't bothered with an old man such as him. He stepped forward and a mass amount of whispers sprung up from the other villagers, most of them along the lines of, "Is he crazy? That demon will rip him to pieces!"

The old man ignored them and came over to the group, saying softly, "Come young ones, you can find refuge at my home. It's at the edge of the village and was spared this destruction."

Kagome nodded and they followed him, Miroku hurrying off in the other direction to get the others.

Next to the small homestead that they were led to was a running stream and Inuyasha immediately made a beeline strait for it. Kagome followed, thanking the kind old man and assuring him that they had found his grandson and that the others would be bringing him soon.

Then she too entered the stream, washing off all the smears of blood Inuyasha had left on her body, having to remember to douse her hair as well. She finished much faster than he did though, and she ended up standing on the bank for a while, growing more and more sad as she watched. He scrubbed his hands over and over in the water, obviously trying to wash off the blood caked onto them. Even after the red had faded away into the water he still scrubbed, until his hands appeared raw, even to Kagome from her spot on the bank. After an indeterminable amount of time he finally slumped, seeming to give up, and came back over, plopping down next to her on the bank.

After a moment he grumbled, "…you don't have to force yourself."

"Hm?" She questioned.

"You don't have to force yourself to be around me."

"I'm not forcing myself Inuyasha."

Then he seemed to bristle. "Well stop pussyfooting around and acting all stupid! It's not like I care what happened or nothing! I'm just fine with what I did!"

"No, you're not." She said simply.

There was another long silence as he looked away, seeming to cave into himself. Drawn to him and feeling intense sorrow and pain in her chest for his obvious suffering she walked over on her knees and hugged him from behind, gently. He tensed.

"Ka-Kagome?" After a long silence he asked raggedly, "How can you even touch me after…after what happened?"

"You aren't to blame. Your instincts simply kicked in and the enemy separated you from the Tessaiga. You only killed the bad guys after all, and you could have easily killed me. But you didn't."

He very slowly relaxed, bit by bit, and then his hand came up and curled over hers on his shoulder.  
"Kagome…" he murmured, not saying anything else.

After a long moment he slumped, and she wrapped her arms more tightly around him, expecting it. She had noticed he would go on, even with serious injuries, and then once he had found a safe spot he would pass out, usually without notice. It generally seemed to be around her, and she also had a theory about that as well. She hoped it was because he trusted her and felt safe enough in her presence to let himself relax.

Passed out as he was now, she waited until the others showed up, laying him back in her lap and smoothing his silver bangs out of his eyes as she waited. It wasn't too long a wait, and soon they had arrived and helped her to move him into the shelter offered by the old man, a small barn type structure where he kept crops. They laid Inuyasha down inside on a pallet that had been constructed and Miroku, Sango, Shippō, and Kilala all went inside the home where they had been offered spaces to sleep for the night. Kagome and Inuyasha meanwhile had received the barn for privacy as she tended to his injuries.

She had his shirt off by the time he finally woke up again.

He immediately protested. "Oi, I'm fine Kagome, don't-don't worry about me." His tough guy act was ruined slightly when he grimaced and hissed.

She gave him a look and sighed. "Look, I've let you tend to my wounds, so return the favor okay? If nothing else, do it for my sake, so I won't be worried. Please, Inuyasha."

At first his face stayed stiff and uncomfortable, but by the time she said "please" his expression had softened. Heaving a loud sigh he relaxed back onto the pallet and grumbled, "…well, fine. But I'm only doin' it for your peace of mind. I don't need the help."

She didn't bother calling his bluff and simply said, "Thank you, Inuyasha."

He grunted in response and then cringed as she began cleaning out the wound on his stomach. It was still slightly fizzing and was oozing in a very not good way. Using alcohol and some powerful antidotal herbs, she managed to get the still active poison under control, but Inuyasha wasn't happy about it, grunting and complaining the whole time.

"F-fuck Kagome…what the crap is that? Feels worse than the poison! You sure _you_ ain't poisoning me too by mistake you stupid woman?"

"Inuyasha, if I'd acted like you're acting right now when you were treating my wounds do you know what you would've done?"

At his grumbling she continued. "You probably would've said something like, 'Geez Kagome, I'm sorry it hurts but we gotta do it so shut up and stay still.' Now, obviously you normally don't need my help because you have such fantastic healing powers, but even you have to admit that this poison is hinky stuff to have affected you so badly, and the last thing I want is for you to be poisoned like I was, so suck it up buttercup."

He sulked for a moment and then grumbled, "…I still don't think this is necessary…"

Kagome paused. "You know how bad it feels to get poisoned after this fiasco, but you still have no clue how much pain is involved with a poisoned wound that is left to sit and fester and get worse. That wound on my back sent pain through me that made me wanna throw up or pass out. I will _not_ see you go through that, Inuyasha, I just won't."

He met her eyes, and for a brief moment she could see through all those barriers he normally kept in place. Then he closed his eyes and sighed. "Alright."

After that he didn't protest too much, although he still winced and cussed, but he didn't question her.

Once the largest wound seemed to be safe, she packed it full of salve and then bandaged it for good measure. Many of the smaller cuts he had sustained with his fight with Sesshomaru had already mostly healed, but he still had a few deeper cuts that didn't want to heal, and every burn he had sustained was still bad. So, she set about cleaning all his burns and stopping the spread of poison, also having him drink down a tea made of the same antidotal herbs to help boost his immune system and fight it off in his blood stream.

Once she was done with the poisoned bit, she sat next to him and watched in wonder as his wounds closed right before her eyes, some of them slower than others depending on the severity. Then a thought popped into her mind.

"Hey Inuyasha? Do you think I got that healing power from you? The saliva-thing I mean."

He cracked open his eyes and blinked up at her, looking a little surprised. "Dunno. It's possible."

"Do you mind if I test it on one of the small cuts that's almost healed?" She pointed at his arm, at one that hadn't quite scabbed over yet.

He shrugged and lifted his arm, offering it to her in obvious acceptance. Only his eyes betrayed his interest as he followed her motions closely.

She grabbed the proffered arm and scooted closer. Getting herself into a good position, she dipped her head and lightly licked at the scratch on his arm, feeling extremely self-conscious as she did, feeling his gaze on her almost as intensely as if he had been touching her. She ran her tongue over the cut a few times, the mild taste of blood making her scrunch up her nose. When she lifted her head it seemed as though the cut had healed a bit more, but it was hard to tell given how fast he already healed.

"Try it without your necklace." He suggested.

Intrigued, she lifted her necklaces over her head and put them into the pouch at her waist. This time she had to be mindful of her fangs as she tried again. There was a slight tingle under her tongue this time around and she felt a very slight change, the flesh knitting together under the pressure of her tongue. It wasn't much, but as she lapped at the cut it definitely healed faster than the others.

"Wow. I guess I did get them." She said, amazed by it.

"Yeah, some. It's not as strong as mine but it's pretty good." He said, and to demonstrate he sat up a bit, leaning against a nearby hay bale and lapped at another cut similar to the first. With fewer licks of his tongue his scratch was gone.

"So do you generally heal little scratches like this by licking them?" She asked after a while.

"Na, not usually. They go away so fast it ain't worth the bother."

She nodded, looking at them. All the smaller cuts had faded now, and only the deeper ones were sticking around. He had a few nasty ones on the arm he had used to actually punch Sesshomaru's sword away from him, and she eased closer, wondering if he would protest her licking them to get rid of them. She didn't like the taste of blood, though it was slightly more tolerable in this form, but the sensation of his skin healing under her tongue was surprisingly nice. She hated seeing him hurt and being able to heal him so quickly made her feel almost intoxicated, high on power.

She very slowly eased her fingers under his hurt arm and lifted it into her lap, waiting to see if he would protest. His eyes opened and he looked at her inquisitively, but she suspected he knew what she was about. When he didn't protest she ducked her head and licked at one of the deep gashes, feeling it heal. It was an odd sensation, feeling the flesh actually slowly move on its own as it knit back together. She pulled away when she felt that cut close and then glanced back up to see Inuyasha still watching her with an intensity that unnerved her. Even his ears were angled towards her at their most up and forwards position, betraying just how focused he was on her.

"Uh…do you mind me doing this?" she asked hesitantly, hoping he would say no.

He slowly blinked and then shook his head, uncharacteristically being quiet for once. She got the distinct feeling that this meant a lot more to him than her just healing his wounds.

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

He couldn't stop watching her. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself to, he just couldn't tear his eyes away.

There was no way she could know what it meant to heal another demon's wounds … in demon language it was essentially a confession of love. Of course if it was an emergency they could do it for other demons they cared about, but for mundane cuts like these, it was purely an act of love.

He had never, ever, in his wildest dreams thought he would have someone doing this for him. Of course he had never thought he would have a mate either. The fact that Kagome had agreed to be his mate was amazing enough … and now this. He simply couldn't wrap his mind around it.

He guessed he shouldn't be so surprised, after all she was his mate, or at least he considered her to be even though he hadn't claimed her as such yet, but he still couldn't help but think of her as a human, so he hadn't ever really been prepared for a demon moment such as this. Feeling his wounds healing under the touch of her mouth was something he could get used to, he realized. Despite normally fighting medical treatment he could totally see himself seeking this particular treatment out in the future. It was utterly amazing, the sensation of her mouth on him, of his cuts healing first with pain and then soothed under the stroke of her tongue until all he could feel was the softness of her.

This was the last thing he expected to happen after such a horrible incident. That she was still willing to touch him like this, even after seeing him at his worst was beyond belief. He had seen the aftermath, and knew the actual slaughter had been a hundred times worse to witness. He felt cold every time he thought about her being exposed to such disturbing scenes. And then there was the fact that she had been smeared with in blood, as well as spattered with it as if he had slaughtered people practically on top of her. It made him sick, and he still couldn't quite stop brooding over what he might have done to her. So this, her tending to him in this manner, was healing him on more than one level. He was shocked to feel himself almost tear up, his heart clenching so hard in his chest he wondered if it was even possible for a demon to have a heart attack.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

As she was finishing up on his arm she saw his head turn away from her and tilt down, hiding his face under a curtain of his long white hair. He was tense and she pulled back, worried that she was upsetting him. After a long moment of waiting for him to tell her to back off, a moment that was only full of silence, she cleared her throat.

"Um…Inuyasha? If this bothers you I can stop…"

She could just barely see the corner of his mouth and saw a flash of fang and then him bite his bottom lip, a little red drop of blood rising up on the skin. She tilted her head to try and see more of his face and caught a glimpse of his chin. There were a few shining droplets of clear liquid dripping from said chin, and it took her a second to realize they must be tears. Blinking rapidly she sat back on her heels, waiting for him to compose himself. If she made a fuss now he would just bluster his way out of it and blow her off entirely out of embarrassment.

After a while he cleared his throat and she pretended not to notice as he discretely wiped his cheeks. It was easier to pretend she wasn't paying attention if she just kept tending to his wounds, so she busied herself with scooting closer to him and poking her fingers into the open gashes of his pants, investigating to see if those wounds were healed on his legs. Most were, but she found a deep slice on his calf, one that had nearly severed the muscle, and so she pulled the edges of the cloth back with her fingers and set about licking the wound, grimacing a little at the presence of leg hair.

She hadn't ever noticed really, but he did in fact have leg hair. It was pale silver and soft and silky, much more so than the course dark hair that grew on her own legs and she felt unreasonably jealous for a moment. She hadn't ever noticed it because it didn't really show up, being so pale, but the light coming in from the window of the barn kind of glinted off it when she raised up to look. She could sure as heck feel it when she tried to heal that wound, the hairs going in her mouth in a rather unpleasant manner. By the time she was done with it she had to fish a few out of her mouth, and gave them the evil eye once she had for getting stuck in her mouth to begin with.

Thankfully that was the only bad wound on his legs that she could find. She was moving back up to work on his arms now that he seemed a little more composed, when he interrupted her. His low voice was soft and a little horse when he asked, "Kagome? Did I…did I hurt you when I was…"

She pulled away from the cut on his arm she was about to tend to and looked up. He was looking at her now, his face still bowed but his golden eyes shining through his bangs. His ears lay not totally flat on his head, but pretty close.

"No. You didn't hurt me." She said gently, smiling to try and sooth him.

"I saw all the blood on you after. How did … did I come after you?" He continued, intent on getting answers.

She sighed. "Well…sort of. You didn't try to hurt me at all, but…you did kind of…grab me."

"I grabbed you?!" He asked, his head coming up abruptly as he stared at her with wide, shocked, and slightly frightened eyes.

"Yeah, and I was about to 'you-know-what' you for it when Sesshomaru showed up and distracted you."

"Wait, Sesshomaru showed up?" He looked hopelessly confused now.

She nodded and then winced. "Oh, and uh, you might want to know that he also may have figured out that you made me your mate…since he could smell your blood in me. And he didn't seem too happy about it either."

Inuyasha snorted and rolled his eyes, seeming to relax some. "Big surprise there."

There was a slight pause in the conversation. After quickly tending to the cut on his arm she had been aiming for, Kagome shifted to modestly straddle one of his knees and leaned over him to get at a really nasty cut on his shoulder, bracing herself with a hand on his other shoulder. He moved his legs to let her get at the cut and she paused for a second, shocked he was being so complacent. Usually any sort of medical treatment was a struggle, but this time he was unquestioningly moving in ways to make it easier for her to get to the cuts she was aiming at, even before she asked him to.

Putting the thought away to ponder later, she leaned in to work on his shoulder. She was careful to keep her body arched and away from his torso, mostly so that she wouldn't hurt him. But there was also the slight matter of him being half naked and her essentially sitting in his lap to consider, and the position did succeed in making her just the tiniest bit flustered. Being this close to his head she could hear his breathing and felt it as he turned his face towards her, his warm breath puffing against her shoulder.

"Kagome?"

"Hm?" She hummed, keeping her mouth on the wound she was working on.

"Did I…frighten you?" he asked very softly, his voice hesitant and pained.

She drew back a little, licking her lips and thinking about what she should say. "Yes…I was afraid. I was afraid of you, but more than that I was afraid of losing you, that you wouldn't snap out of it."

She could hear a deep breath come out of his lungs in a heavy sigh and felt the hot air hit the side of her face. "I'm...sorry, Kagome." He said haltingly. His arms very tentatively wrapped around her, seeming almost as if he was worried she would push him away.

She wasn't sure she had ever heard him say an apology quite like this before, certainly not ever with this level of sincerity, and she sucked in her breath. Staying where she was so she wouldn't scare him off, she whispered, "I'm just glad that you returned to me, Inuyasha."

He sighed again, more softly this time, and pulled her against him.

"Your wounds…" She mildly protested, holding herself an inch from his belly with her hand on his shoulder.

"The one on my stomach's already mostly healed thanks to you, don't worry Kagome." He said and insistently tugged with his arms around her and she went this time willingly.

One of his hands gently cupped her face and moved it so that he could look into her eyes. Looking into his face, she could clearly see the torment that was still written in the tight lines of his brows and in the darkness of his eyes, but thankfully he seemed at least slightly more at peace. His eyes seemed to glow as he looked at her, and ever so slowly his expression softened a bit. He glanced at her mouth, and Kagome realized he wanted to kiss her, but he hesitated. Judging by the slightly tentative, anxious tinge to his expression now, and the way his eyebrows scrunched a little with indecision, Kagome suspected that he was worried she wouldn't want to kiss him after seeing him go ballistic.

He was wrong though. After the events of the day, her utmost desire was to reassure herself that he was okay, that he was still her Inuyasha, and physical contact was pretty much at the top of the list. She decided to wait for a brief moment though, to see if he would kiss her, feeling like making the first move now might scare him off. His eyes met hers again, searchingly, obviously trying to figure out if this was okay, and she gave him the most open look she could manage, not hiding anything of what she was feeling from her face. It was surprisingly intense, staring into one another's eyes like this, both looking for something inside the other person.

Either he simply couldn't stop himself, or else he saw whatever it was he was looking for in her eyes, because after an immeasurable moment he leaned in and touched his mouth to hers. Her eyes closed, simply soaking in the feel of him warm and alive and okay against her, and her lips softened to meet his. The kiss was full of emotion, not really as passionate as their previous encounters but just as intense. It was full of soft gentle movements, sometimes their lips barely brushing against each other as they seemed to speak to each other in silent whispers, not saying anything specific but expressing their devotion to one another simply through the motion of their mouths. It lasted seemingly forever, time ceasing to matter as they kissed, but eventually they parted, their foreheads touching as they stayed put for a time.

With a sigh, Kagome pulled back slightly, leaning her head back down to finish tending the wound on his shoulder, before then nuzzling the fresh skin and resting her cheek there, relaxing into his arms. It felt perfectly natural to snuggle into his embrace, resting her head on his shoulder and carefully wrapping her own arms around his body, between him and the pile of hay he was currently propped up against. He nuzzled into the hair at her neck and pressed his face to her skin.

Both of them were so exhausted by that point that the embrace quickly lead to a peaceful sleep for the both of them.

* * *

Author's Note:

So, a much longer chapter this time. Hope everyone enjoyed it. :)

And we have a full-demon Inuyasha, woohoo, always fun times for everybody...except those people he killed, they probably didn't have too much fun. Plus a nice bit of fluff and cuteness at the end there, gotta have a little love between these two crazy kids every now and then.

Hope everyone was pleased with Seshomaru's reaction. I didn't want to have an all out battle or anything, just some simple disgust and judgement from the older bro.

Anyways, let me know what you all thought of it and if you have any other suggestions or ideas.

Toodles!


	12. Chapter 12

One would think that Kagome might respect Inuyasha a bit more, now that he was her boyfriend. And it wasn't necessarily that she didn't respect Inuyasha, she respected him a lot in fact. She respected his strength, and his emotions, and his intelligence, but…she did not respect his masterful ability to completely miss social cues.

And as per usual they found themselves in a familiar situation, with him face down on the ground and her standing over him, her hands on her hips as she yelled, "SIT!"

"Kagome!" He spat, along with some dirt that he had eaten accidentally.

She ignored him and turned to the old woman they had met on the side of the road, the very same woman who Inuyasha had so rudely called an old crone and various other things as she politely asked for their assistance.

The old lady smiled, a twinkle in her eye. "My! What an amazing power you have there, dear girl. To control one such as him…"

Kagome laughed lightly while Inuyasha snarled from his place on the ground. "Well, he needs some lessons in manners sometimes. I'm so sorry for his insults."

"Ah, it is quite all right." She waved it off with a shriveled hand.

Ignoring Inuyasha's grumpy input, the troupe agreed to assist the old woman in carrying several excessively large baskets back to her home, which was actually conveniently located just off the road they were traveling anyways.

"See, Inuyasha? It's not like this took us any extra time." Kagome said under her breath, just getting a huffy grumble in reply. He was obviously sulking.

"As thanks for assisting me, perhaps you would like to share supper with me tonight. I can also offer you shelter in the old wing there. I haven't had guests in a while, so it mayhap be a tad bit dusty, but the rooms are fully furnished with futons."

It was a nice house surprisingly and indeed there seemed to be a whole wing off to the side that was empty. Being that it was already crawling towards dusk, they all gratefully accepted her hospitality.

During dinner, as they ate some of the food she gave them, the old woman, who had finally introduced herself as Madam Mirai, seemed to be eyeballing Kagome and Inuyasha, who were sitting next to each other rather stiffly and not talking.

"A lover's quarrel?" She inquired after a while, a kindly smirk on her lips.

Kagome started, not expecting the spot-on question and then flushed. "Th-that would require for us to be lovers and we're not so…"

"We're not?" Inuyasha asked in a very irritable voice, giving her a cranky look.

"B-well, I mean not really…uh…" Kagome flushed even harder. _Did you actually have to … do stuff to be considered lovers?_ She wondered wildly, not entirely sure. Turning to Sango she leaned over and whispered the question in her ear.

Sango chuckled for a second and then covered it with a polite cough. "Uh, I don't think so, I think just courting could mean you're lovers." She whispered back kindly, but with a slightly teasing lilt to it that said she was amused.

Kagome grimaced, realizing she had flubbed. Turning back to Inuyasha she mumbled, "Uh, sorry, I was mixed up on that word. Yeah, we are."

"Huh," he huffed and rolled his eyes, pointedly looking the other way.

"Ah, young love, how wonderful." The old lady mused, startling Kagome back into realizing they had an audience. She flushed again and smiled awkwardly.

Then Madam Mirai turned to the other two, ignoring Shippō since he had fallen asleep next to his plate a little while back. "And what about you two?"

Both Miroku and Sango blustered and flushed and stammered over themselves enough to amuse even the embarrassed Kagome. The old lady backed off, easily seeing their discomfort, and smiled with both kindness and amusement.

After some time and small talk their hostess brought Inuyasha and Kagome up as a couple again, seeming rather oddly interested in them for unknown reasons. "I was impressed earlier at your power over this one here." She gestured at Inuyasha, getting a sour look in response from said half-demon. "Indulge an old woman's curiosity but are those beads of subjugation about his neck?"

Kagome blinked, surprised she recognized them for what they were. "Uh, yeah. How'd you know about that?"

She chuckled raspily and said, "Oh young one, I have been alive for a very long time and have seen many things." After a sip of tea she continued with the conversation by asking, "By any chance are you also laden with beads as he is? Or is the power one sided?"

Inuyasha answered for her. "Oh it's all one sided trust me. If I could 'sit' her she'd never get back up by this point. Huh!" He ended with another exasperated huff and turned back to facing the wall.

"I see, and do you wish for a power such as that?" The old woman questioned him and Kagome suddenly got uneasy, not liking where this was going.

"Well yeah, duh! Like I said, she'd deserve it after all she's put me through."

"Fascinating." After a long pause, the crone turned and smiled. "Tea anyone?"

They all nodded and she prepared a fresh tray of delicious tea. While the tea was being prepared, Kagome gently scooped up Shippō and carried him to her room, where he could rest since he seemed so tuckered out. Kilala trotted along behind her and then curled up next to the sleeping fox once she had set him down. After tucking them in, Kagome returned, just in time to receive the very special tea that Madam Mirai handed her.

This time each of the teas they were handed were different. She gave Sango one that was bright red, explaining that it was a sweet hibiscus tea, while she gave Miroku a very light golden colored tea saying it was chamomile, while she offered Kagome a light pink tea with a small green bud inside that bloomed as she watched in amazement. Hers turned out to be ylang ylang tea, whatever that meant, while Inuyasha's was a strong dark, green tea, though it looked like black tea to Kagome.

"Wow! Did anyone else have a blooming flower?" Kagome asked and Sango turned to look at hers, also exclaiming at how pretty it was.

"No! But look, I have a few large petals in mine, and smell how sweet it is!" Sango said and Kagome leaned over to take a whiff. Indeed, hers smelled really, really nice and had two large petals from some flower floating on top which Madam Mirai said were edible.

"Oh look, Miroku has those petals too, they're just white instead of red." Sango noted, and Miroku glanced between the cups comparing them.

"You're right Sango, they do match, though why they are different colors when they appear to be from the same plant I don't know."

"All of these herbs are from my gardens, and I possess two different colors of those flowers. They have different tastes to them you see." Their hostess explained.

"That's amazing! I didn't know you could grow and make your own tea!" Kagome said, quite impressed and interested by the knowledge.

Sango likewise seemed more fascinated than anything else, but the two guys were less enthused.

Miroku turned to the old lady and asked, seemingly suspicious, "May I ask why you chose such different teas for all of us?"

She just grinned and chuckled. "Call it a specialty of mine. Some people have the gift of palm reading, I have the gift of tea, both reading the leaves as well as knowing which teas would pair with the right people. I can read your leaves once you are done with your cups as well if you would like."

"Hey, I have one of those flower things too." Inuyasha said, seeing it after drinking some of the dark tea in his cup.

"You too?" Kagome asked, scooting over to see, forgetting in her fascination that they weren't talking to each other. His tea wasn't in fact black, to Kagome's surprise. It was actually just a very deep green, one that reminded her of the leaves of pine trees, and it even smelled fresh and almost spicy like a pine forest.

Scooting back to her seat, she took a sip out of her own cup and was amazed by the taste, which was at first very light and floral and then deepened as richer flavors hit her tongue. All of them seemed to love the tea, even the guys, and soon they had finished.

The woman took their cups and turned them upside down on the saucers, then lifted the cups one by one to look at the leaves that had stuck to the bottom of the cups.

She started with Miroku. "Ah, it seems you have a passion for women. But that will have to change, I'm afraid, and soon it will. Very soon you will find yourself more affected by a single person instead. The leaves say that a deeper understanding will be made and you will soon have a personal journey, questioning yourself. Good for you my boy, we should all seek to better ourselves, how fitting for a monk."

Miroku nodded, looking slightly unsettled, but he covered it well with a bow and thanks.

The old lady turned to read Sango's next. "My, what a lot of energy you have built up inside, anger and passion in particular, along with great sadness. The leaves tell me that soon in your future you will experience a release of pressure, and perhaps you will lose yourself for a time until you can regain your center. It seems like perhaps you will need help on this journey, from one who is more enlightened."

Sango also looked a bit perturbed at her reading.

Next was Kagome. "Now, let's see. Hm, interesting. Yours say that you have a vivid temper and are sometimes quick to make decisions. In your future, the tea has said that you will soon be facing a trial of your own choosing that will help to temper that irritability of yours as you gain a deeper insight. Your trial will also involve another person perhaps, and will require a deeper understanding of yourself."

Kagome grimaced, not finding her reading any more comforting than the others.

Last was Inuyasha. "Last but not least … yes, you also have a quick temper, but you are also like Sango and bottle things up within yourself. The leaves show that soon you will have a new outlet, a new tool to discover yourself and come to be at peace. However you also risk losing someone very precious to you, unless an agreement can be made."

Inuyasha scowled.

Since Shippō had already gone to bed, he didn't have any tea, nor any tea leave to read, so that concluded the evening as they all adjourned to their respective rooms.

Kagome slept very fitfully for some reason, and woke with the sense that she had had some very vivid dreams, ones that she simply could not remember. Dismissing it, she rose and joined the others. A quick breakfast was had and then they left, bidding the old woman farewell and thanks for her hospitality.

As the day progressed, everything appeared to be perfectly normal … complete with arguments.

"What did she mean 'control' me? You can't control me!" Inuyasha spat after a while, apparently having been stewing on it since last night.

"Well technically…" Kagome muttered.

Inuyasha was so riled up and pesty in fact that she did indeed end up 'sitting' him after about an hour of his complaints and rude comments, which no one was surprised by.

"You know? The old hag was right, this ain't fair Kagome. I should have some way to 'sit' you a well!"

"Oh yeah?" She yelled back, ticked off and also feeling sort of guilty at the same time.

"Yeah…" He growled, deep in his chest as he peeled himself up off the ground and gave her a nasty look. "I just _wish_ I could 'sit' you, I'd 'sit' you so hard the trees would fucking fall over!"

Kagome gasped, shocked by the fact that her brain immediately made some connections it shouldn't, and his angry, frustrated threat came across as highly inappropriate. It really did sound incredibly suggestive, and she couldn't help but think that the word 'sit' used in this context just sounded…kind of dirty. She grimaced, wishing she hadn't made the connection because now she'd get flustered when talking about 'sitting' Inuyasha, which really also sounded kind of suggestive now that she really thought about it. Her grimace was stained red as she blushed and scowled at him.

The blush didn't go unnoticed, nor did the slight scent she gave off as her brain took a little field trip to visit the gutter. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and stood. "Just what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing!" She yelped and turned, walking stiffly away, her cheeks uncomfortably hot now. And then she stopped as a sudden wave of heat and dizziness washed through her. It passed quickly enough, and Kagome could only figure that she must have simply gotten too angry and embarrassed and had had some sort of weird hot flash. Maybe she was sleep deprived…or hungry…or something. She didn't have too much time to ponder on it because Inuyasha had caught up with her and was still pestering her.

"Oh really?" He questioned in response to her previous statement.

"Yes really! Drop it Inuyasha!"

"Or what? You'll 'you-know-what' me again?"

"Inuyasha, just-"

Abruptly he was ticked off again. "You know, that's you're problem Kagome! You have no idea, none at all! If all I had to do to shut you up or get something I wanted was to yell "Sit Girl!" then…" He paused, his words trailing off and then finished with, "…the fuck?"

 _What the fuck indeed,_ Kagome thought rather desperately as she sat on the ground for a moment catching her breath.

When he had said those two words she had suddenly felt the weirdest sensation, the weirdest, most embarrassing, disturbing, and horrifying sensation she could imagine under these circumstances. It had been like someone had reached into her groin, grabbed hold of her from the inside, and then yanked her down by it. It hadn't hurt, not exactly anyways. It had come close to that simply because of the intensity of the sensation that had shot from her sit-upon all the way up her spine and slapped her on the back of the head, bending her forward until her hands smacked against the ground as she sat. Really, she couldn't describe the sensation with words, it was simply too odd. Still, her thoughts from earlier flooded back to her. This had seemed uncomfortably close to the whole idea of 'sitting' being something inappropriate, given the area that had been forced down to the ground in such an abrupt and peculiar manner. And that made this situation supremely embarrassing, alongside utterly confusing and slightly scary.

 _Why me?_ She couldn't help but wonder. Why did she get stuck with weird things happening to her body? Even when it came to creepy perverted demons, they always seemed to gravitate to her. She wasn't the only girl in their company, why didn't Sango ever get kidnapped or ensorcelled? Was it something about her that screamed, "Hey I'm an innocent little virgin here ripe for the taking! Why don't you come kidnap me or put some sort of pervy spell on me?"

"Oi, you okay? You trip or something?" Inuyasha asked, standing over her.

She sucked in a breath. He couldn't know that he had this new power over her; he would abuse it for sure. So, smiling she stood and brushed herself off. "Yeah, I tripped on a rock."

"Heh, funny how it corresponded with me saying-"

"Yeah! I know right? That was hysterical. Come on we better catch up to the others." She interrupted quickly.

He gave her a narrow eyed look that she really didn't like. He looked like he was contemplating the possibilities of the coincidence being not a coincidence. She really needed to distract him, and quickly.

Unknown to Kagome, Inuyasha of course knew something had just happened more than her tripping judging by the sharp scent he had picked up. So he wasn't about to be distracted.

She could feel the heat of his sharp gaze on her as she prattled on about something. Honestly she didn't even really know what it was she was saying, but whatever it was, none of it seemed to really catch his attention.

"Hey Kagome…" He interrupted her ramblings after a while.

"Huh?"

"Didn't ya think that old woman was kinda weird last night?"

"Uh, I guess, maybe a little."

"She's the first one to bring up how unfair this thing is…" He hooked a claw under his beads. "Besides me of course."

Uh oh, this was getting to close to the S-word. "W-well yeah, I mean I've been trying to cut back on that you know…"

"Huh, could've fooled me."

"Hey! You know I've been getting better!"

"Well…maybe." Then he shot her a look. "But I'd still love a chance to _sit_ you."

At the word she felt that same sort of sensation from before and it made her knees buckle, but since it wasn't quite as strong she managed to stop herself half-way down, doing a weird dip and then staggering back to her feet.

He swung around. "I knew it! _Sit Girl_!"

At the full command she definitely sat, with a gasp and a squeak as her butt hit the ground. He started laughing, in a very nearly maniacal manner.

"Stop it Inuyasha!" She protested loudly, and by this point they had attracted the attention of the others.

"What is going on over here?" was Sango's input.

"Why don't you ask Kagome?" Inuyasha responded with a broad, slightly dark grin.

Every head turned to her.

"Uh…well, it seems that … something weird is going on." She managed to sputter, turning red in the face.

Inuyasha just snickered.

She groaned and stood, brushing off her butt as she did and then crossed her arms and glared at him, still flustered but also rather cranky now too.

"Well, if you ain't gonna tell them how about I show them?"

"Wh-wait Inuyasha don't you dare-"

"Sit Girl!"

And down she went again, landing with an "oof." "Darn it all, Inuyasha! I said don't!"

"Yeah, and when's that ever stopped you from doin' me?"

She paused, gaping at him. It was true though, she had sat him on multiple occasions, sometimes many times in a row, while he sputtered, "Stop it!" And abruptly she began to feel the creepy crawly sensation of guilt sneaking up on her once again, only stronger this time as she got a taste of her own medicine.

Of course she didn't really have a chance to think too much about it because everyone else was now peppering them with questions.

"Wait, what just happened?"

"Inuyasha 'sat' Kagome!"

"How in the world-"

"I don't know but this is very strange…"

There was suddenly a long pause as they all stood around her, staring down at her sitting form and obviously wondering how this could have come to be.

Finally Miroku hummed, and then squinted, and then nodded, seeming to agree with himself about something. "Yes…I believe that this might have to do with the tea Madam Mirai gave us and the futures she read in the leaves. Do you remember? She told you, Inuyasha, that you would soon discover a new tool for releasing your frustration, but that you would have to be careful not to lose someone close to you. Meanwhile you, Kagome, were told that you would soon have a trial to temper your quick irritability. It seems to match with this situation."

"Well how do we get out of it?!" Kagome demanded.

"Hey! I think it's perfectly fair Kagome. So there ain't any way of getting out of it for you."

"I believe she said you have to reach an agreement correct? Probably this spell will only be broken if you two can reach some sort of accord. Or perhaps it cannot be broken and you simply have to agree not to 'sit' each other anymore."

"Well I ain't agreeing to anything, I like being able to 'sit' her."

She went back to her knees, being in the process of getting up when he said the S-word.

"Hey, watch when you say that! Now you're going to have to be as careful as I am about saying it carelessly." She scolded.

"Whoops, sorry Kagome…" He snorted, the laughter not doing anything to make his apology sound realistic.

She just huffed and finally levered herself up.

"So what about you guys, she gave you future readings too ya know." Kagome pointed out rather sourly.

"Yes, I am aware. Sango, we will need to be very careful."

Sango nodded as well, scowling a tad and looking a smidge bit worried.

They didn't have to wait long to find out what their spell was, because as soon as they entered the next village along the road it became instantly clear. They stopped somewhere for a brief repast. While at a small tea shop, all of them sticking to very traditional green tea, they were served by a lovely maiden, yet Miroku did not give her his normal perverted greeting asking her to bare his children. In fact he didn't seem overly interested in her at all. Instead he was too busy watching Sango flirt with the man at the next table.

Inuyasha and Kagome blinked, looking back and forth between the two who seemed to have switched places for the day.

After a moment Kagome cleared her throat. "Um, guys?"

She got Miroku's attention, but not Sango's. Thankfully Shippō was sitting next to her and started tugging on her sleeve. "Sango?"

She finally turned around and faced them, slightly flushed and with bright sparkly eyes that nearly looked feverish with a slight glaze to them.

"Thanks Shippō. Uh, do you two feel that there's anything wrong with this picture?"

Sango's eyes cleared slightly and she blinked curiously at Kagome. "Huh?"

"Wrong? How so?" Miroku asked, also looking at her curiously.

Inuyasha stepped in at that point, obviously losing patience with Kagome's gentle approach. "You guys have totally switched places. Sango, you're the pervert now."

They both stared at him for a long moment, their eyes wide as if they hadn't realized it before he said so.

"I believe you're onto something Inuyasha. I feel no desire to talk to that pretty maiden over there…" Miroku murmured, glancing at the lovely lady who had brought them their tea with wide eyes and a shocked face which quickly became disturbed.

Sango just had her hand over her mouth, eyes wide and horrified, and said nothing.

Despite recognizing that they were under a spell, it seemed they were unable to prevent these things from happening, perhaps because they were unprepared for them. As they passed through the town, Sango repeatedly got sidetracked with young men, talking to them, flirting with them, seemingly without thinking, almost as if she was in heat, while Miroku watched and visibly grew more and more agitated. It got to the point where, by the time they left that village, the two weren't speaking to each other.

That evening, as they found a place to stay in another little village down the road, Sango continued to flirt with all the men, and Miroku eventually left the room, unnoticed by Sango. Seeing his departure, Kagome decided to go after him, to see if there was any way she could help.

Despite finding the situation very funny at first, it was also kind of sad. She didn't want to feel bad for Miroku, since this was what he did to Sango all the time, but she still kind of did. Mostly though, she felt bad for Sango, who seemed to have absolutely no control over herself at the moment. Despite seeming very happy while she was flirting, in between men she had looked absolutely horrified and almost like she might be sick, her face going between being flushed with humiliation and pale with shock and fear.

The only good thing about it for Kagome was that it had distracted Inuyasha from their own little predicament, for the time being of course.

Going outside, she found Miroku, standing under the porch and looking up morosely at the night sky. She had never seen him look quite so dejected before, and wasn't entirely sure how to act around him being so different from his usual upbeat but calm, lecherous self.

"Um…Miroku?"

"Oh. Hello, Kagome." He responded, glancing back at her and then looking back up at the stars.

"It's a nice night isn't it?"

"…No, not really." He sighed.

Kagome flinched, feeling like smacking herself in the head for her stupidity. "Well, I mean…yeah, but it's nice weather…" she stuttered.

"Oh…yes, I suppose it is."

After a slightly drawn out silence Kagome tried again. "Look, Miroku…remember, this is just a spell."

He heaved a sigh. "I know. It's not that really…it's just, watching Sango acting so…unlike herself. The things she's doing…it…"

"You really love her, don't you?"

His head whipped around and he stared at her wide eyed. Then after a long moment his eyes closed and he heaved another sigh, his tense shoulders seeming to slump as he apparently accepted what she had said.

She didn't need any further response than that. "So, is part of it you feeling guilty for making her jealous like this all the time?"

Miroku grimaced, looking away. "Yes. I already knew…but, experiencing it firsthand is incredibly different."

Kagome also grimaced, thinking back to the little 'sitting' incident from earlier. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

He glanced at her. "True. You are in a similar predicament, Kagome. How goes it with you?"

"Well, to be honest I think Inuyasha has been finding your and Sango's situation too entertaining to pay too much attention to me, which I'm grateful for by the way."

He chuckled, slightly less morose. "Well, it's good to know that this is at least causing some good for someone."

She smiled back at him and then let her face get more serious. "Miroku, I really think the only way you guys are gonna be able to fix this is if you apologize to Sango, and make some sort of serious commitment…and promise to try and not be so lecherous. If this continues that spell might actually cause her to sleep with someone else, and I don't think she'd ever be able to forgive herself for it."

He winced and grew pale. "I hadn't thought about that." With a grimace and a sigh he looked back out into the courtyard, seeming to ponder her words. Eventually, after a long moment he said. "I believe you speak the truth, Kagome. Thank you for your advice."

She nodded and then turned to go back inside to leave him alone with his own thoughts. She returned to the food and the others and sat back down to her own meal. It didn't take too much longer for Miroku to also rejoin them, and Kagome kept an eye on the two of them, smiling behind her cup as she saw the monk pull Sango away, seeing she was done with her meal. The two of them disappeared through the door to the courtyard, and Kagome seriously hoped they'd be able to work things out before something bad happened.

"So…was that your doing?"

She turned to face Inuyasha. "'Scuse me?"

He nodded at the door. "First the pervert went out to sulk, then you followed, then you both came back, and then he grabbed Sango and made a beeline for the exit. I'm guessing that was your idea?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I told him they really needed to work things out before Sango accidentally slept with anyone."

"That's good." He said calmly and then sent her a sideways glance and smirk. "I hope ya don't think you're getting out of your predicament as easy though…"

Kagome grimaced. "Yeah, no I figured you'd be hanging onto that power for a little while at least. Just try not to abuse it alright?"

His smirk grew. "Well…we'll see. No promises."

She scowled. "Remember I can 'you-know-what' you just as much as you can, so if it comes down to it we're both just gonna end up pinned to the ground for a while."

"Oh yeah? Well mine is still a lot worse than yours! You make me eat the grass basically! You just go to your knees."

"But mine's more embarrassing!" She complained.

His grin came back as he eyed her. "Yeah, there's that."

"What's that look for Inuyasha?" She sputtered turning red.

His leer only upped the wattage and he tapped his nose. "Remember I can smell it when you get excited, so I know it's got something to do with that."

Kagome scowled and huffed, blushing and turned away from him to eat the rest of her food and tried to ignore him. It was true that the sensation that forced her to the ground originated in her groin region, which did sort of spark a certain…reaction at times. It was fairly humiliating to know that Inuyasha knew about it as well, and it certainly didn't bode well for her that he seemed so pleased about it either. So…she chose to try to ignore the problem. That didn't work out so well though, since Inuyasha was being particularly rambunctious and pesty for some reason.

"Are you ignoring me? Kagome? Hello? Don't make me 'sit' you."

She gasped and lurched, nearly tossing her rice onto poor Shippō.

"Inuyasha! That threat only works if you don't actually say SIT!" She intentionally said it of course and the floor creaked ominously as his face met it harshly, thankfully missing the low table in front of them.

He still came up with a bowl of beans on his head though and he glared at her through the dripping mess of his bangs.

She sucked in a deep breath, swiftly bowed to their hostess and hurried to try and get the heck out of dodge, seeing an ominous glint in his eyes. She managed to stand and almost got across the room before he peeled himself off the ground enough to free his mouth from the pillow he had been sitting on.

"Sit Girl!" He bellowed and she yelped, hitting the floor.

"Sit Boy" She retaliated, and he did a faceplant, growling loudly into the rice he had faceplanted into.

She managed to scramble to her feet and get outside, heading for her room, and hopefully safety, before Inuyasha could find her. Once she was outside she made a run for it, but as it turned out running wasn't a fantastic idea, because when she heard "Sit!" from somewhere behind her she tripped and tumbled into a very convenient bush next to the path. It was kind of prickly, and she got scratched up a bit, but it was a lot better than if she had skidded across the gravel.

She poked her head out of the bush and glared at Inuyasha fiercely, sorely tempted to sit him again out of spite, but she knew that if she did, then she'd get sat again, and it would never end.

So, she struggled to disentangle herself from the branches of the bush and then brushed herself off haughtily. "Fine. So now that that's out of our system, can I go to bed now?" She asked, still ticked off but also seeing the humor of the situation a tiny bit.

He snorted. "Fine." He almost seemed grumpy about it, as if he had been enjoying the 'sit' battle.

* * *

Author's Note:

A new chapter, yay! And now Kagome gets a taste of her own medicine. Hahaha, I hope everyone enjoyed the little twist. :3

As always, please review and let me know what you thought, and I'll make sure to post as soon as possible. And to all my reviewers thank you and hugs and kisses and rainbows and puppies. :)


	13. Chapter 13

The next day they set off again for their next destination. They had come across the rumor of a powerful centipede demon a little ways north from them, and they headed off in pursuit, hoping that it would possess a shard of the jewel. Of course it didn't and in fact it turned out to be shockingly weak when they finally did find it. It merely took a single sutra from Miroku and it keeled over backwards, leaving the rest of them with loaded weapons.

They stood there, Inuyasha with his Tessaiga raised, Sango with her Hiraikotsu ready to launch, and Kagome with an arrow loaded and pointing at thin air now and they all blinked rapidly for a moment, shocked.

Then Inuyasha huffed loudly. "Huh! What a pain in the ass. It's no fun when they die so damn easy."

Kagome sent him a slightly scandalized look. "We should be grateful that it didn't pose a problem, Inuyasha!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

She growled, "Inuyasha…"

He smirked. "What…ya gonna 'sit' me?"

Once again, he had forgotten not to actually say it, and she was sent to her knees, not quite hitting the ground with her butt since it was an unintentional command.

She balled up her fists, a blood vessel pounding in her temple. "Inuyasha! SIT!"

He crashed to the ground with a resounding bang, and the others took a step back, blinking at the two.

"I told you to watch when you said that word!" And then as he peeled his face from the ground to undoubtedly 'sit' her intentionally she yelled, "SIT! SIT! SIT!"

She knelt there, panting and red in the face from anger.

When he finally managed to lever up onto his elbows he glared fiercely at her. "Oh yeah?! Well how about _you_ SIT, SIT, SIT!"

She yelped and her forehead whacked into the ground as she curled into a ball, her insides cramping up from the pulses going through her. Yes, one command might actually feel kind of good in a weird way, but with these many commands in a row, her muscles had quickly cramped up from clenching so hard in her gut, and any pleasure turned to pain pretty quick, which was strangely a relief. It was less embarrassing at least.

She had finally figured out why the sit commands had this effect on her. The witch they had met on the road had said she would choose her own trial, and she had made the mistake of thinking dirty thoughts right before it kicked in, so it was actually her own fault it ended up slightly perverted. _Really though, those sorts of thoughts didn't pop into my head all randomly like that before I seriously started dating Inuyasha_ , she thought sourly. So really it was still his fault.

With that thought only making her madder, she managed to uncurl and snarled at him. "Sit boy, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit…."

She waited, and once he was able to crawl out of the hole he had dug himself as far as she was concerned, he retaliated, and she was once again curled over, groaning as her muscles cramped up even worse than the last time and didn't release the constriction, to the point where she was sure she would be eternally constipated.

Thankfully their self-destructive behavior was interrupted by a lot of cheering, and they both looked over to see an entire village waving and cheering at them.

Both Kagome and Inuyasha had sweat dropping off their forehead, and they sent each other quizzical looks as they wondered if this crowd somehow thought their argument was some sort of performance. It was all very strange, until they remembered they had just defeated a demon.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! That centipede has been terrorizing this village for many months now!"

" _That_ centipede? Are they joking?" Inuyasha groaned, finally dragging himself to his feet again.

"I guess, don't see any others around here…" Kagome wheezed back, likewise pulling herself up and pressing her hand to her lower back which was painfully throbbing.

They shrugged at each other, both too sore to really be able to hold a grudge against the other. So when the elder of the village offered them a place to stay and a banquet, they quickly accepted. It was funny, the battle with the demon hadn't worn them out, but they sure as heck had done a number on each other.

They tiredly plodded into the medium sized village up ahead and gratefully sat down in the large house they would be staying in, resting as they received their food. All of them thanked their host and dug in.

One good thing had happened at least, and Kagome smiled as she glanced over at Sango and Miroku. It was plain to see that things had gone back to normal between the two.

Kagome edged around Shippō to sit next to Sango for a moment. She gave her a gentle bump in the side with her elbow to get her attention and smiled conspiratorially. "So, how'd it go last night? I see you two aren't fighting anymore."

Sango blushed ten different shades of red and Kagome's eyebrows flew up on her forehead. "Wow, that good?"

"Uh…well he…uh…he proposed to me."

"What?!" Kagome whisper shouted, getting the attention of Inuyasha.

"So was that before or after you guys did it?" was his input.

Kagome turned around and hushed him viciously.

"What? His scent is all over her…" He mumbled under his breath, and Kagome's eyebrow cocked as she turned to look back at Sango.

Lowering her voice way down she asked, "Wait… _did_ you guys….?"

Sango blushed even harder. "Not…not exactly. I mean we didn't actually…uh…"

Kagome grinned. "But you did _other_ stuff?"

Sango looked like the cousin of a tomato as she bashfully nodded.

"Wow, congratulations!" Seeing something behind Sango, Kagome cleared her throat. "Though, it looks like you're gonna have to remind him about that…"

Sango turned around to see Miroku back to his flirtatious ways, and she switched between being embarrassed to angry in one second flat. Kagome got out of the splash zone. She needn't have worried though, as soon as he felt the tell-tale hot glare on the back of his neck, Miroku swung around and wilted, grinning bashfully at Sango and rejoining them at the table. Kagome was impressed by how quickly he had been corralled; it seemed he was really trying his best to change. His best wasn't fantastic right now, but she could see honest chagrin in his face that said he would do better next time.

She was distracted from the thought when she heard a slap and turned to see Inuyasha with his hand to his cheek. He pulled his hand away to look down in his palm and Kagome and Shippō huddled around, knowing who was about to make an appearance.

Sure enough, there was a flattened Myoga, just puffing back up into his proper shape. "Ah! Master Inuyasha, how good it is to see you! I heard you got into a fierce battle earlier today. I'm glad you are safe."

Inuyasha scoffed. "Funny, how come you never show up during battle, but always show up when there's food and women around?"

"Now, now, don't be cruel" The flea protested, backing up in his palm.

"Oh yeah? Well then where've you been, _Myoga_?"

The old flea shockingly turned pink and began to chuckle. "Even old pests like me have bed fellows they'd prefer to keep secret ya know." He then began to chuckle in a very perverted and creepy manner.

Kagome's eyebrows rose once again, shocked by the thought of Myoga having "bedfellows" of any kind. The thought popped out of her mind before she had the time to censor her mouth. " _You_ have bedfellows Myoga?"

Then she flushed a little when she realized what she had asked. She was just glad poor little Shippō had returned to his meal and wasn't paying more attention to them at the moment.

Inuyasha on the other hand snorted loudly, while Myoga looked offended. "I'll have you know I am an excellent lover! I have never had any complaints thank you very much. In fact…" He chuckled lecherously, "If you would like some tips on how to please Miss Kagome here I would be happy to-"

Before Inuyasha could actually crush the little flea demon, which judging by his furious expression he was about to do, Kagome snatched the little guy out of his palm.

"Uh, I don't think your experience with other flea demons is gonna benefit any of us, Myoga." She pointed out both flushing and giving him a stern look of disapproval.

Shippō had the unfortunate timing of paying attention to their conversation instead of his meal for a moment and pointed out, "Yeah, Miroku's the one who'd have all the pertinent information with all his fooling around."

All three adults turned to look at the kid demon, shocked. Inuyasha was the first to recover and he quickly scowled. "Oh yeah? Well what would you know about it anyway ya little runt?! You're just a kid!" The exclamation was predictably followed by a fist to the top of his head.

"OW!" Turning away he grumbled sourly, "…well then how come I've had more girlfriends than you…"

Kagome caught Inuyasha's irate fist before it could hit the young fox kit on the head again. "You said it yourself Inuyasha, he's just a kid. Give him a break." Then in a lower whisper she soothed him by saying, "He hasn't had any _adult_ relationships yet Inuyasha, he doesn't know what he's talking about."

Inuyasha snorted, mollified by her words. "Yeah, true that," he scoffed.

That night they all had their own rooms, which was a luxury that they normally didn't have.

Kagome fell asleep with Shippō curled up next to her, thinking about how nice it would be to be able to go and sleep next to Inuyasha. Even despite their 'sitting' spats lately, she felt more and more attached to him at the hip, wanting to be around him all the time. At night she always thought about what it would feel like to cuddle up to him, vividly remembering sleeping with him that one time on her bed. He had been so warm…

The thought stuck with her, and when she woke later she found herself too restless to fall back to sleep. Not wanting to wake Shippō and ruin his sleep, she quietly exited the room in her sleeping robe, closing the door quietly behind her. Once on the covered porch that ran alongside all their rooms she sighed, wondering what to do now. A thought flashed through her mind, and in her still sort of drowsy and befuddled state she started making her way in the direction of Inuyasha's scent.

She had taken off her fang necklace, always sleeping with it off since it could be potentially dangerous. Inuyasha had shown her how to not be so overwhelmed by the power of his demon blood through some infrequent training sessions on the road. Mostly it got down to her spending that energy and not letting it get bottled up. So every few nights she would expend that energy, either by practicing some moves he had shown her, or by sparring with him, and it mostly seemed to work. The blood lust hadn't taken her over again, though sometimes she could feel it boiling beneath the surface, but right now everything was calm inside of her. Still, Inuyasha's scent called to her and she instinctively followed.

She easily found his door and entered his room, closing the door behind her. Then she woke up just a bit and more fully realized where she was, and suddenly she began to feel a little awkward. She was just about to make a speedy retreat, but then her cover was blown.

"Wha-Kagome? What're you doin'?" Inuyasha asked, his voice gravelly from sleep.

"Oh…uh…" She couldn't think of anything to say really and so she just stood there awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot.

"Why don't you sit down?" He grumbled, craning his neck uncomfortably up to look at her from his position on his side.

Caught in the middle of a step forward, having gotten up enough courage to cross the few steps it would take to reach him, she staggered from the command and lost her footing. She fell on top of Inuyasha, who cussed, realizing his mistake.

"Shit…sorry Kagome, I keep forgetting."

She grumbled into his chest, her top half on his and her legs splayed out over the floor. There were a few other things on her mind at the moment. During the tumble, she had felt her robe come untied in the front, so she lay very still and patted around with one hand to try and find the two sides so she could reclose it. She wasn't really wearing anything underneath, so it was kind of important.

She wasn't overly mad this time, he had softened her fall after all, and since he took the brunt of the impact he had already been properly reprimanded in her opinion. Plus, he had apologized, which wasn't exactly common for him.

She finally managed to grab both sides of her robe and awkwardly pulled them closed, sort of sitting up and retying the front while Inuyasha watched. He must have caught a quick flash of skin because his eyes widened and he asked, "Oi, are ya not wearing anything under that or something?"

She flushed. "I…I am." She was, but it was just a pair of panties. Still, it counted.

He cocked his head and snorted. "Pretty sure I just saw a line of skin from your neck down to your belly button."

She scowled at him, blushing even harder. "I'm wearing underwear okay? Just not a shirt."

He flushed too, and then chuckled. "Yeah, or one of those silly blah things."

Kagome blinked and then after a second realized what he meant and started snickering. "You mean a bra?"

"Yeah, that nonsense bit of lace."

She laughed, finding it hysterical that he had called it a blah.

He just cocked his head and looked at her quizzically, his ears twitching as he obviously wondered why she was laughing. Then he shrugged and after a moment of watching her catch her breath he asked, "So…why are you in here again? Not that I'm complaining or nothin'."

"Uh…well, I just…I couldn't sleep, so I took a walk to clear my head and…well your scent lead me here since I'm not wearing my necklace."

He nodded, seeming to find that answer believable. She froze when she felt a light touch high up on one of her cheeks right next to one of her eyes. She looked back towards him, having averted her gaze in her slight embarrassment. He had raised one hand and was lightly touching the tail end of the red stripe under her eye which was now showing since she wasn't wearing her fang necklace.

Then his hand trailed down from her face to her neck, noting the absence of both chains.

"So you take off the jewel as well?"

She nodded, shivering at the light touch. "Yeah, the jewel gets all weird and pulses when I wear it in this form so I take them off together usually. I have a pouch that I put them in and put it under my pillow when I sleep."

He nodded. "Yeah, now that you mention it, I remember you took them both off that time you healed me."

She nodded again, feeling a little like a bobble head at this point.

He traced a series of very thin white scars that went all around her neck, feeling the very slight raised bumps with his fingers.

"Those are from all the times the chains have been ripped off my neck." She offered in response to his questioning look.

He grimaced. "Ouch, never knew it actually made scars."

"Not always, but if it's hard enough it can definitely give me a chain burn and sometimes cut into the skin a little."

He sighed. "I wish there was some way I could carry the jewel for you. I don't like that you have such a big target on your back. And without it, you'd be able to be like this and not have to worry about it."

"You and I both know that's impossible with your desire to use it."

"I…I'm not really sure I want it any more honestly." His gaze shifted uncomfortably off to the side as he murmured the words softly, almost as if to himself.

She was shocked by the quiet confession, never expecting it. "Wha-what?! But I thought…"

"I mean…I wanted to become a full demon, but… I've already experienced that and I don't really think I want that anymore." He mumbled, frowning deeply.

Kagome thought about it for a second. "You know…I'm not entirely sure that's true. Your brother is a full demon, and he's okay. I think it's when your full demon blood overpowers you…that seems to be when it becomes a problem. If there was a way to let you have your full demon blood, while still being in control of your mind…it might be possible. For short periods of time at least. And it might make it safer for you to be in that full-demon state."

Inuyasha cocked his head, thinking it over, meeting her eyes again. "Well…even if that were possible why would you care?"

Kagome flushed. "I…I mean I don't want you to…uh…what I mean is, I've just been thinking about it a lot since you went full demon. It felt…like I might actually lose you. If it would prevent that from happening…then I'd be willing to do just about anything."

He gulped, looking up at her and sucking in a deep breath. There was a tense silence as he absorbed that information.

After a moment she cleared her throat awkwardly and tried to lighten the mood somewhat. "To be honest though Inuyasha, I like you just the way you are."

He froze, looking at her through wide eyes. Then he coughed and looked away, obviously getting too emotional and shutting down a little bit. "You don't know what you're talkin' about." He said gruffly, crossing his arms.

She just sighed, letting it go for now and shifting so she lay beside him on the futon instead of draped across him. His head whipped around and he looked at her, shocked again.

"Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?"

"D-do I…uh…that is, do whatever you want, it's not like I care."

She snorted, amused by his bluster. It was a little awkward and tense for the first few silent minutes, but soon Inuyasha heaved a sigh and relaxed, his body loosening next to hers and she followed suite automatically. It was amazing how natural it seemed to sleep next to him, despite the nerves of awareness running through her just from lying next to a boy, and not just any boy, but Inuyasha. Still, it was really late and she quickly found herself dozing off and could tell Inuyasha was doing the same judging by the soft snores that started escaping his chest.

They were startled by the crashing sounds coming from outside and after a few moments Inuyasha went to investigate, sleepily slamming open the door and saying "Geez what the fuck's going on out here?"

Kagome could hear Miroku yelling and then heard Shippō say, "Can't you lovebirds keep it down?"

Inuyasha apparently blew off whatever was going on as well and started to turn back into the room but was delayed when Miroku yelled, "Wait!"

He heaved a sigh and turned back around, hooking his clawed fingers over the doorjamb and leaning out the door lazily. "What?!" He asked in both a sleepy and slightly pissed tone of voice.

"Sango's been possessed!"

That got all of their attention and Kagome hurried to retie her robe more firmly and poked her head out around Inuyasha. Sure enough, Sango was indeed attacking Miroku, seemingly for no reason at all. Seeing this, Inuyasha as usual reacted faster than any of them and he dashed out, grabbing Sango as she was about to bring the Hiraikotsu down on Miroku's head.

"Oi! Sango! Snap outta it!"

Shockingly she went limp in his arms and slid right into Miroku who was leaning up against the wall, while Inuyasha was left to catch the giant boomerang.

Naturally Miroku didn't waste such a golden opportunity and proceeded to grab her behind as he sincerely asked, "Sango? Are you okay?"

With a resounding clap she brought her hand to his cheek.

"Wow, she even slaps him in her sleep." Shippō muttered and then he turned to Kagome, "And by the way, why were you in Inuyasha's room instead of with me?"

Everyone got distracted then and turned to look at the little fox kit. Meanwhile, Kagome flushed hot red.

"Wait, what's going on?" Sango muttered, looking at her hand on Miroku's cheek and then back at Kagome. "You were sleeping with Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha, however, seemed unflustered, though Kagome could see the telltale signs that he was in fact embarrassed, judging by the very slight dusting of pink on his cheeks and the way one ear tilted ever so slightly off kilter. "Yeah?! We were sleeping all right, until you guys had to go and make a big racket. What the hell was that about anyways?"

Miroku wasn't one to be so easily dissuaded though. "Sleeping? I apologize for interrupting your _sleeping_ with Kagome. If I had known that was going on I would have figured out some way to deal with the situation by myself."

"Hey! Why's Inuyasha and Kagome's sleep more important than mine!" Shippō protested loudly.

"Well you see my dear fox, when a man and a woman sleep together it is much more special and involved and much less pleasant to interrupt. Speaking of, how in the world did you two stay so quiet? I never would have guessed. Next time please at least give some sign so that I can know not to interrupt."

By this point Kagome was hopelessly red in the face and even Inuyasha had gotten slightly pinker, though he looked madder than anything else. "I dunno what kinda sleep you do Miroku, but ain't it usually quiet…what with the being _asleep_ and all?"

Shippō once again piped up, saying the worst thing possible at this particular moment. "Well my mommy and daddy would sometimes make weird noises at night."

Kagome sputtered something along the lines of, "W-well some people t-talk in their sleep, Shippō, and sometimes it doesn't really sound like talking because they are asleep and it comes out sounding really weird."

Inuyasha gave her a look that was mostly amused but still slightly aggravated by the whole situation. "Well, whatever, I'm goin' back to bed." He plopped the Hiraikotsu back down onto the ground. "We can figure this out in the morning."

"Wait, Sango was possessed! We should make some sort of plan at least." Miroku protested and thus, much to Inuyasha's irritation, they conversed about it. Midway through the conversation Myoga popped up on Miroku's collar.

"Are you sure you don't sense anything suspicious?!" He asked nervously, sounding rather suspicious himself.

"Hey…are you hiding something from us, Myoga?" Inuyasha asked, leaning in real close.

The little flea yelped, "nope," and hopped off Miroku to disappear into Kilala's fur.

The only thing they could think of was that somehow the giant centipede from earlier had…turned into a ghost or something, so they determined that the best course of action would be to go and seal the remains again in the morning.

The plan having been set into place, they all retreated to their beds for just a few more hours.

Kagome automatically followed Inuyasha back towards his own room, a fact which was noted by the others. The door closed and then a few seconds later Shippō came flying out, punted by Inuyasha's foot as he growled at the little kid. They could hear Kagome fussing at him quietly as he closed the door once again.

Sango took pity on the little fox kit and offered to let him to come and sleep with her and Kilala, an offer he quickly accepted.

The next morning ~

"So, did you have a good night?" Sango asked her, a slight twinkle in her eye.

"I think you've spent too much time with Miroku, Sango." Kagome huffed, heaving a tired sigh. "And no, I didn't get nearly enough sleep."

Before there could be any misunderstanding she was quick to correct herself. "Inuyasha got plenty of sleep but I couldn't really stop thinking about what might have possessed you and it kept me awake."

Sango grimaced. "Sorry about that, Kagome."

"Hey, it's not your fault. We just have to figure out what happened, that's all."

Sango heaved a sigh. "Yeah. I couldn't fall back asleep either; I was too worried I'd go berserk again."

They continued conversing up until they got to the place where they had buried the felled centipede, and then they all set to digging it up and conversation was made more difficult with the huffing and puffing. Once uncovered, Miroku set another seal on it, and they all breathed a sigh of relief, believing that would, hopefully, be the end of that.

As the guys set to burying the thing again, mostly Inuyasha since he was so good at it with his long claws, the girls pulled back, slightly distracted by the appearance of Myoga.

"Oh, Myoga. Good morning." Kagome said, as she looked down at the little flattened flea in her palm. She had swatted him without thinking about it as usual, but he didn't seem to mind too much as he popped back into shape.

"Ah, good morning, Miss Kagome, Sango."

"You feeling better?" Kagome asked him.

"Huh? I don't know what you mean."

"Well, you seemed awfully perturbed last night." Sango added, looking at him slightly suspiciously.

"Oh! W-well, yes I-I feel much better, now that the demon has been sealed again."

He was still acting a bit shifty, but he interrupted any more questions by hopping over to Sango's palm. He peered at it and said, "Sango my dear would you like me to read your palm?"

Indulging the little flea demon she accepted his offer with a mild smile, her eyes still sharp. He did the normal thing and then when he came to the part on relationships he said, "Ah, you don't have much luck with men, Sango. You should dump Miroku, he's too much of a womanizer."

Sango flushed and snorted, "Well, he is working on it, but I'll be sure to tell him what you said so he'll know there will be consequences if he continues to flirt with every girl he sees." She sent Miroku a sharp look, probably for the night before.

He didn't respond, instead just giving her a slightly blank expression.

"Uh…Miroku?" Kagome asked, noting the way he was staring off into space, and even ignored Inuyasha as he bellowed, "Oi! Get your butt up here and help me bury this thing!"

Then his eyes shifted and locked onto Sango and abruptly he yelled, "I won't forgive you!" before running and gesturing wildly with his staff.

Both Sango and Kagome yelped and dived out of the way as he came at them, brandishing his staff in a rather uncoordinated but quite dangerous manner.

Everyone gasped and there was pandemonium as they all grew quite confused.

"What the hell?!" Inuyasha yelled, abandoning the centipede's body to go after Miroku.

"Miroku!" Sango yelled, sounding hurt and shocked that he would go after her.

This time Kagome realized what was going on before anyone else and yelled, "He's been possessed like Sango was!"

"Well how the feck did that happen? Miroku's so powerful it would take a mighty strong demon to possess him." Inuyasha growled as he dodged a wide swing.

"I don't know!" Kagome yelled back exasperatedly and then squeaked as she too dodged a wild swipe.

Miroku wasn't going after them all though, he was dead fixated on Sango and he pursued her mercilessly…that is, until he strangely switched over to Shippō for no apparent reason whatsoever.

"You won't get away you wretch!" He bellowed as he took off after Shippō, Myoga yelling, "Quicker Shippō! You must run for it!" from the little kit's back.

Everyone else just watched with a dumbfounded expression and Inuyasha summed up what they were all thinking with, "Wait…what the heck just happened?"

Shippō was a pretty fast little fox, way too fast for Miroku when he really put his mind to it, and that was made double the fact when Miroku suddenly planted his foot in a rabbit hole and did a faceplant right into the dirt.

"This body is no good if it can't even catch a child," he grumbled, his head popping up from the ground and glaring at Shippō.

"Huh?!" They all said, pretty much in unison, and then Inuyasha snorted.

"Funny voice change you got there, Miroku."

It was true that the much higher pitched feminine voice didn't suite the lecherous monk at all, and Kagome couldn't help but imagine him trying his, "Will you consider bearing my children," line in that voice. That thought prompted a snicker from her as well. But she quickly sobered as he groaned, seeming to snap out of it.

"What in the world happened to me?" He mumbled, wiping the dirt off his face and sitting upright, looking utterly befuddled.

"Well, you got possessed like Sango did." Kagome said.

"Darn it all, how is that possible? I thought we had sealed the demon."

They were interrupted however by a commotion coming off from the left and they all turned to see Shippō, running this way, with Kilala in hot pursuit.

"Oh no! Not Kilala too?" Sango gasped.

"Wait a minute, look at how she's running…." Miroku pointed out, and they all took a second to observe the oncoming chase. Kilala was indeed running oddly, not really even running so much as bunching her legs up under her and then…hopping.

"What the…" Inuyasha grunted cocking his head and watching it with a confused and slightly amused look on his face.

It did look awfully silly, but Shippō wasn't amused in the slightest and he came barreling into them crying and yelling.

"Uh oh." Kagome muttered, and they all were forced to scatter as Kilala followed close behind the small fox kit.

"Kagome! Run!"

She started at the sound of Myoga yelling urgently in her ear and then noticed that Kilala was indeed headed her way now.

She gasped and made a dash for it. Thankfully, right as Kilala pounced, Miroku was able to throw a purifying sutra at her that landed right on her nose, sparking with blue lights and making her rear back and hiss. After a few seconds she blinked and then looked down at Kagome between her front paws curiously as if to say, _"Oh, hi Kagome. Why are you down there?"_

"Back to normal, Kilala?" Kagome asked nervously.

Kilala curled up her nose and mouth, baring her large fangs in an odd way and Kagome flinched back, worried she was still possessed. But then with an almighty, "FFFFFsnoooof!" Kilala sneezed and then twitched her whiskers and gave Kagome a lick on the face. Kagome breathed out a sigh of relief and wiped cat spit off her face before reaching up to pet Kilala's head.

"All good over here!" She yelled back to the others.

She stood and started heading back with Kilala on her heels.

"What is going on around here?" Sango asked, petting Kilala's nose sympathetically. She got a big cat purr in response as Kilala nuzzled into the caress.

"I don't know, but we need to get to the bottom of it, and fast before-" Miroku's response was cut off midway through as Inuyasha began to laugh.

All heads turned towards him as he threw his head back and cackled, sounding like a maniacal villain.

"-before that happens" Miroku finished his sentence with a heavy sigh and wince.

"Uh oh." Kagome muttered as flat gold eyes turned and landed on her.

She gasped and jumped up onto Kilala's back, holding on as Kilala took off with Inuyasha in hot pursuit. He was also running very oddly, and under any other circumstance Kagome would have started laughing so hard she would have fallen off of Kilala. He looked incredibly silly, what with the way he was hopping on all fours like his hands and feet were spring loaded or something, but even with the odd mode of transportation he was still pretty quick, so she didn't have time to find it funny.

He quickly caught up to them and swiped Kagome right off Kilala's back, making her fall to the ground with a huff as her back made rather firm and sudden contact with the dirt. She coughed and started to sit up, but then fell back flat as Inuyasha showed up right in front of her, standing over her and crossing his arms while glaring down.

"I caught you, you rascal!" He declared, and she couldn't help but blink at the odd words coming out of his mouth.

"Uh…I'm just gonna…" She started inching back on her butt, trying to scoot out from under him, but that notion was put to a sudden halt as he barked, "Oh no you don't!" and promptly sat on her.

She gasped, both out of shock that Inuyasha was now sitting on her of all crazy things and also at the impact of it. He had sat pretty hard right over her middle section, making it utterly impossible to get away or 'sit' him as she felt his legs clamp down hard on her sides. Then she stared up with shock as he totally did a complete mood reversal, his eyes going half lidded and a very seductive little smirk playing on his lips.

"You can't escape from me you naughty little scoundrel! I'm all yours for the taking, my sweet foxy darling." He said in a silky voice, while simultaneously loosening his kosode and robe, sliding them off his shoulder.

Her jaw dropped open and her eyes bugged out of her head, not at all sure what to do about this new development. He was obviously not himself and the words were so unlike him that she simultaneously felt like laughing and blushing. And then she did blush as his shirts both loosened enough that they fell off both shoulders and pooled around his waist, leaving his top half exposed.

She could see the others running towards them, and as Inuyasha reached his hand towards her chest and closed over her shirt she made a split second decision. Thankfully she had been training in her priestess abilities along with her demon powers, because this wouldn't have been possible even a few short weeks ago. Putting up a barrier over her body she yelled, "Sit!"

Predictable he came crashing down on top of her, breaking the barrier, and did a faceplant into the dirt right next to her head, his body lying flat on top of hers. The barrier had taken the brunt of the hit, so she wasn't crushed, but it still hurt and she gasped and then huffed as his body slammed into hers, wincing. Undoubtedly she would have bruises.

Thankfully it did the trick and snapped him out of it though because after a short groan he growled, "What did ya do that for Kagome?!"

She managed to squeak out "Inu-Inuyasha…" through her constricted lungs, still a little bit squashed.

"Kagome?!" He yelped, his head turning and looking at her and then he arched the rest of his body up and away as much as he could, given the necklace pinning him to the ground.

"Thanks…" She gasped, taking some deep breaths now that she could.

"What the…how did…the hell?!" He sputtered.

"You got possessed too."

"Well yeah, I figured that much." He growled, finally managing to wrench himself up from the ground and sit up again. He looked down at her, then at the position he was in, straddling her waist as he was, and then at the way his shirt was flapping in the wind at his waist and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"Holy fuck, what the heck's going on here?"

"Um…" Thankfully she was given a reprieve from having to answer him as the others finally caught up to them.

"Why are you…never mind. Is everyone okay?" Sango asked, quickly averting her eyes from Inuyasha's half-clothed state and the suggestive position they were in.

"Yeah."

"Wait, what's that in your hand Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, pointing down at his clenched fist.

He blinked and opened it up and they all stared, surprised at the sight of Myoga cowering inside. He quickly tried to leap away but Inuyasha used his sharp claws to snag the back of Myoga's shirt and held him still as he struggled.

"Myoga, what's going on?"

"Let me go, Master Inuyasha! I'm begging you!"

Right about then they all watched, still shocked as another flea hopped onto Inuyasha's hand…a female flea. The story quickly became clear as they all found out that this was Myoga's fiancé, and that she had been chasing him down to try and force him to marry her.

"Let me go! Please! Please!"

"No can do, Myoga. You knew all along that she was the one possessing us and you didn't say a goddam thing."

Everyone scowled down at the little flea, irritation tangible in the air.

"I think you should forgive him. Why not just have a marriage ceremony here instead?" Kagome offered, her eyes narrowing at Myoga in annoyance.

"Marriage!" The old lady flea exclaimed, blushing hot red and drawing little circles on Inuyasha's skin.

Inuyasha smirked evilly, his eyebrows twitching as a blood vessel pounded in his forehead. "Yeah, that's a great idea."

And so, without further ado, the head elder of the village was recruited and a tiny ceremony set up in place for the flea couple. Of course, as was usual with Myoga, he had disappeared, a fact that the lady flea discovered midway down the aisle. She shrieked bloody murder and set off in hot pursuit as the rest of them watched, bemused, as the two fleas quickly hopped out of sight.

"Well, that was…strange." Miroku summed up for all of them, and they all nodded, a bit confused by the incidents of the last day.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hellllooooo everyone!

I hope everyone enjoyed the new installment...yes?

So...maybe now Kagome and Inuyasha can reach some sort of understanding with the sitting thing. Will he keep the power? Who's to say? But perhaps it will come up again in future chapters. Certainly, at the very least, it will keep her from sitting him unnecessarily, one would hope.

So, that's that! If anyone has any sort of feedback or just wanna ask me to post sooner, send me a review! And thank you, as always, to the lovely people who do review this story, you guys are what make writing this story worth it! So cupcakes and kisses all around!

See you all in a few days!

Bye, bye now. :3


	14. Chapter 14

Shortly after that they took their leave, having had enough of this particular village, and set off down the road in pursuit of the next jewel shard.

Later that evening, Kagome found herself sitting on a grassy knoll as she was wont to do in the evenings, liking to watch the sun set sometimes. Soon, she was joined by an unusually quiet Inuyasha, and he parked his butt next to hers on the grass, staring out over the trees and the lovely red and orange clouds as the sun set over the horizon. She could tell he had something on his mind, but just waited for him to spit it out, knowing it wouldn't take too long with his tendency towards being impatient.

Sure enough, after only a few minutes he said, "So, Kagome…why was I half naked this morning?…you know, after you 'you-know-what' me."

She raised her eyebrows, surprised he was still thinking about that. "Uh…well you stripped."

"Well yeah, no shit…" After a long pause he grumbled, "What did I do while I was…possessed?"

She fully turned to look at him, noting the slight downward angle of his ears and the way he refused to meet her eyes. He was obviously very upset, but she didn't know why.

She flushed, wondering what to tell him. "Well…you chased me and Kilala. And uh…you caught me. And…" She trailed off, thinking back to what he had said and how he had acted after that. She flushed hotter.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked, still refusing to look at her.

Oh. That's what this was about. He had been possessed, had done some things that he had no memory of, and with his recent stint of going full demon this incident had highly perturbed him. It made total sense now to Kagome and she scooted closer to him and cocked her head at an angle that got her face under his, enough that he was forced to meet her eyes even with his downturned gaze.

"No…you didn't hurt me. You sat on me pretty hard, but really, I found that more amusing than anything else."

He blinked and then snorted. "Wait, I sat on you?"

"Duh, I mean, think back to where you were when you snapped out of it. You were straddling my stomach after all."

He flushed a little. "Oh. Right."

There was a long awkward pause and then Kagome sighed and reached out to lightly grab a lock of his hair, giving it a gentle tug to get his attention. He looked over, his eyes still a bit depressed and she gathered up her courage before leaning in and swiftly brushing her lips against his, giving him a quick kiss. He blinked and his eyes went wide as he stared at her in shock.

She cleared her throat. "Don't worry about what happened, Inuyasha. I know it's freaky to not remember stuff, but nothing bad happened, I promise. All you did was proposition me…well I guess you were actually coming onto Myoga…but whatever the case it wasn't scary or dangerous in the least. So let it go. Okay?"

He blinked and then after a second he flushed, his ears going cock eyed in his discomfort. "I..uh..oh, okay. Guess that's fine then." He muttered.

Kagome giggled, finding him adorable and turned to watch the sun finish setting as she snuggled into his side.

The next few days passed relatively uneventfully, aside from a few 'sit'-fests that left both Kagome and Inuyasha exhausted and sore. After the fifth one they both lay next to each other, out of breath and sweating, and Kagome turned to Inuyasha. At that point, they looked at each other, and there was an unspoken understanding between them that this was utterly ridiculous.

So from that moment forth, they both refrained from saying the dreaded word. Kagome wasn't sure if he even still had the power over her, but it didn't really matter, because they both did their best to not use it carelessly.

That didn't mean that they still didn't have their occasional spats, and it was one such argument that occurred one day and utterly distracted them from the danger swiftly approaching. They had been tracking some demon said to carry off virgins, and only young attractive ones at that. So naturally Inuyasha had made a teasing remark about Kagome never being able to act as bait. That had resulted in her growing furious at him and they proceeded to verbally joust back and forth, so loudly in fact that it masked the rumble of the oncoming wind funnel.

They were so busy fussing at each other that they never noticed the oncoming enemy. At least not until he landed near them with a crash in a huge tornado that popped up out of nowhere … that got all of their attention. And they all proceeded to exclaim in shock and horror as they laid eyes on the dangerous looking wind funnel.

"What the…"

"Oh my…"

"Ack!"

"Inuyasha!"

"Yikes!"

The tornado separated to reveal…a large boar demon. He snorted and huffed and laughed, and then his beady eyes fell on Kagome. "Ah! How perfect, a human woman. How pretty you are, Female! Would you like to be my bride?"

She stood there, blinking in consternation. What was it with demons wanting to make her their bride or wanting to kidnap her or needing her powers or whatever? It was getting old.

"Uh…no." She said, still a bit bewildered.

"Haha…well that's too bad. I plan to make you my wife anyways!" So saying, he threw a golden crown thing into the air, and it zipped right towards her.

She squeaked and backed up at the sight of the fast approaching golden projectile, bringing up a quick shield in front of her while she fumbled with her bow to try and put up a stronger shield.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha barked and lunged in front of her, right as the thing broke through her hasty protection.

He wobbled for a second and then seemed to groan, falling to his knees.

"Inuyasha! What's wrong Inuyasha?" She gasped, putting her hands on his shoulders and leaning over him with concern.

"I-I'm so dizzy…" He groaned.

"It must be that thing on your head! Hurry! Help me get it off!"

Everyone pitched in and helped lever the golden circle off Inuyasha's head. Miroku snatched it up, staring at it. "Hm, most interesting. A cursed piece of jewelry it seems, one that incapacitates the wearer."

"Yes indeed! Now the fun and games are over!" The boar demon waved his hand and the golden circlet flew out of Miroku's hand, flying through the air the very short distance it took to land on Kagome's head. She, like Inuyasha, suddenly felt like a limp noodle and soon found herself on her knees in the grass, not really sure how she got there.

She was so dizzy in fact that she had no idea what was going on around her, and when she was grabbed up she had no will or power to fight and just hung limply in whoever-it-was's grasp. She spent a good deal of time that way, and then when she managed to muster up enough wherewithal to try and give a half-hearted flop in the person's grip, they just laughed and suddenly the crown thing tightened on her head. Kagome had a brief flash of indescribable pain, nausea, and dizziness before everything went black.

She came to, who knows how long later, and the first thing she noted was the fact that she at least was a little less dizzy than before, however she felt weak and like she couldn't really move. She was sitting up, leaning against something, a post or column of some sort, and it didn't take her long to figure out that her arms were tied behind her back, attached to it.

With a groan her eyes managed to peel open, and she glanced around, hoping that she would see some way to escape, although how the heck she would manage that when she could barely lift her head was beyond her. She was on a pedestal of some sort, so she was raised up despite sitting, but it was a pretty darn narrow pedestal and barely had enough room for her to tuck her legs under herself, which was the position she found herself in.

The second thing she realized, through both sight and feel, was the fact that she was no longer wearing her normal clothing, rather she had been changed into some sort of long white dress thing. She grimaced, unable to prevent the thought that she looked like the perfect virginal sacrifice, all the way down to the slightly sheer white material on what looked like more of a nightgown than a dress really, as she got a better look at it.

"Well this is just perfect." She managed to mutter.

"Ah, so you're awake!"

Her eyes immediately jerked up and found the ugly boar demon, who had apparently been standing around waiting for her to wake up.

"You…"

"Yes, me! Now, human woman, I will claim you and make you my bride."

Kagome panicked, what the heck was he talking about? Claim her? She remembered Inuyasha telling her about mating and it's various steps, and she was pretty sure claiming had been the first one.

"W-Why would you want to claim me? Isn't that the first step to mating? You don't even know me! Why tie yourself to me like that?" She asked desperately, as she scrounged around deep inside of her for her spiritual powers. It was always difficult to activate a barrier without her bow, but she somehow managed, forcing it out of herself right as he got too close.

He bounced off the shimmery pink/purple shield, snorting with shock. "My, my! Well, aren't you talented! You will make a fine wife!"

"What the heck are you talking about?! I thought demon mating was for life! Why do you want to restrict yourself to me? How about you go find yourself a nice demon woman to settle down with?"

He started laughing. "You sure are informed! But I'm afraid you misunderstand my dear, I said I plan to claim you. I never intended to allow you to claim me as well, you will simply become one of my many wives, all of whom I have claimed and mated and belong to me."

Kagome was horrified, and she had the cold realization that this was the kind of thing Myoga had been talking about before. This wasn't a true mating, he just intended to make her a part of his harem.

"W-what?" She whispered weakly, her shield shivering at her distress. This was not good, she was getting too upset and it was getting hard to concentrate on the barrier.

The boar grinned, showing his large tusk-like fangs. "I see you're catching on, smart girl. Yes, I plan to claim you, and then mate you."

"M-mate me?" As soon as the words sputtered out of her mouth, she realized she probably should have kept her trap shut. She didn't really want to know what this beast was planning.

That disgusting grin widened, and to her shock and horror he adjusted his furry loincloth with a split toed hand/hoof that looked like a clawed version of a pig's foot. That only drew her attention to the fact that he was … apparently very excited about whatever he had planned for her, and she nearly retched at the sight of the large tent at his crotch. That didn't bode well for her at all.

"Ah, are you admiring me? Would you like to see?"

She snapped her head back, as much as she could under the circumstances and shook her head vigorously. But it seemed he hadn't noticed, or her reaction had only spurred him on because she saw out of the corner of her averted gaze that he had dropped trousers…er…loincloth.

She glanced at him and then slammed her eyes closed, feeling sick. He didn't look … normal down there. It was weirdly shaped, kind of pointy, way too furry, a very ugly purple color, and much, much too big. She had only gotten a quick glance and she already knew she didn't want it within a hundred yards of her person. Were all demons so different from humans?

She shuddered, fighting the urges to pass out, throw up, or have a panic attack. _Focus on the barrier, just focus on the barrier, don't think about anything else, just focus on the barrier_ …She closed her eyes and repeated it to herself like a mantra, forcing anything out of her mind. Like heck was she going to let this demon violate her…she was going to keep that barrier up no matter what.

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

Inuyasha could feel every instinct within himself raging to the surface, nearly changing him into demon mode as he tore his way through the forest to find her. He followed Kagome's scent, which was so faint that had they not shared a blood-bond he wouldn't have been able to do so. He half-way used her scent and half-way used the bond they shared to sense where she was in relation to himself. The others followed him at a safe distance, a smart move on their part and one he was very grateful for.

As he approached he could sense her more and more strongly, and he could feel her fear as if it was striking him with a million needles. Whatever was happening, Kagome was terrified and her blood was crying out for him, calling to him to save her. He only just barely held onto his sanity as her call pulled him closer, made him run at nearly impossible speeds.

Once he got to the large and impressive palace building he didn't even bother to come up with a plan, he just blasted the doors off their hinges and barreled towards where he could feel Kagome, tearing through multiple demon guards, who were a bit tougher than he would have expected. They held their own and actually managed to slow him down a bit, particularly the ones that had some sort of weapon that could repel the attacks from his Tessaiga. That only infuriated him more and he found himself snarling and growling in a purely feral manner as he ripped them to shreds through sheer persistence and fury.

When he finally blasted into the room that held Kagome, he was utterly enraged to see that she had been tied up and dressed in what seemed like some sort of skimpy nightgown thing. It was way too sheer for his peace of mind. All thoughts flew from his head and he nearly went feral right then and there at the sight of her like that.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

 _This isn't good…_

Kagome could feel her shield draining her spiritual strength at an alarming rate. She could feel herself weakening, and it was slowly growing painful to hold it in place. There wasn't anything else she could do though, all she was capable of at the moment was gritting her teeth and forcing that shield to stay in front of her. She was going to keep it up even if it killed her…which was actually a possibility.

She had heard of priestesses over-exerting themselves and dying, but she really would prefer that to the alternative.

 _Hurry up Inuyasha…Hurry…_

Almost as if she had summoned him…the doors blasted open, letting in a very pissed off half-demon named Inuyasha.

Her eyes flew open and she looked towards the loud noise, expecting to see her boyfriend. She wasn't disappointed…he was standing there in all his glory, Tessaiga drawn and blazing.

"Inuyasha!"

His golden eyes flew to her and he took in her position, tied up and dressed in something abnormal. "Kagome! Hang on I'm coming!" He started for her but was stalled by a handful of demon guards that Kagome hadn't even noticed up until now.

They were surprisingly tough, and each wielded a halberd that seemed to be giving Inuyasha a bit of trouble.

"Shit! Get out of my fucking WAY!" He shouted, wind scarring left and right.

Strangely it seemed that they were able to ward off his wind scar by spinning their weapons around almost like a propeller, which seemed to create some sort of air current that the wind scar was deflected by. He must have come here ahead of the others, but Kagome suspected they would be showing up soon…hopefully sooner rather than later. It probably didn't help that Inuyasha was more focused on getting to Kagome than on fighting the guards, because he kept trying to leap past them and kept getting held back.

Kagome was utterly distracted from watching Inuyasha's battle though, when suddenly a sharp pain hit her around the neck. It was a familiar sensation, and she turned to the boar demon who had a gasp on her necklaces.

"I'll take this!" He snorted and then with a final yank that had Kagome flinching as the chains dug into her skin he pulled both her necklaces off. He tossed her fang dagger away after a brief inspection and then pocketed the jewel.

The shattered remnants of Kagome's shield dispersed entirely as her priestess powers drooped. She hadn't even realized she had been calling on the power of the jewel shard around her neck, but with its sudden absence she immediately felt a lack of vitality. That void was instantly filled though with the surge of demon power that came from having her other necklace removed, and she welcomed the fire in her blood. Much of her fear was replaced with rage, and she snarled at the boar demon. Her snarl was matched by another across the hall.

He stared at her in shock. "So…not entirely human then. Well, well. What a find indeed…I think you will make fine sons! I will give you the honor of being my first wife!"

The cocky bastard didn't seem to be worried about Inuyasha at all. He came in, close to her, his breath hitting her first and making her recoil. She bared her fangs and growled, threatening to bite if he got too close.

"Don't you touch her bastard! She's mine!" Inuyasha bellowed from the other side of the large room.

The boar snorted and didn't even respond.

Kagome glanced over towards Inuyasha, noting with relief that she could see the others through the open door, battling their way to the main room. Once again, her distraction cost her, and all her attention was drawn back to the boar when a sudden intense pain shot through her shoulder. She gasped and cried out, realizing that he had bitten her. What the…?

It hurt…much more than it should, and everything inside of her screamed that it was wrong. This wasn't a normal bite, that much was certain, and Kagome cringed as she felt a surge of demonic essence being shoved into her through the bite. Was this a claim? Is that was he was doing?

Her mind went pretty much blank as pain took over all of her senses. Her demon blood was shrieking, curdling in her veins, and it felt like the way claws on a chalkboard sounded, only a thousand times worse and echoing throughout her entire body. She didn't even feel as her claws dug into the stone column behind her with a terrible screech. She barely even realized that she had screamed. She could feel this demon trying to assert power over her, she could feel it in every fiber of her being, and she fought it. Every atom in her body revolted, setting up trenches and trying to hold off the advance of foreign power trying to take over her body. She managed to stall its spread, and the pain only got worse.

She didn't hear the sounds of the battle turning into a massacre, or the sounds of a demon that had gone completely out of his mind, all she heard was the pounding of her own blood in her head. Her demon instincts were enraged, and through the pain she managed to slit her eyes open. Acting on pure instinct she growled and snapped at the nearest bit of the demon she could reach. Suddenly she realized, she could move, the circlet on her forehead wasn't affecting her anymore. With that realization she lunged, trying to buck the boar off of her and at the same time she bit at him. She happened to get a mouthful of his floppy pig ear and he squealed, yanking back.

He left a good chunk of his ear behind in her mouth, and as soon as she realized that she shuddered and spat it out, disgusted.

"You bitch! I'm going to split you open when I mate you!"

Kagome snarled, not at all interested.

"Kagome!"

She glanced over to see Miroku and Sango running towards her, and at the same time she saw Inuyasha finish off the last of the henchmen. He had gone full demon, his sword discarded a little ways away and his claws positively dripping in blood. As the others ran over to her Inuyasha set his sights on the main boar demon.

Kagome didn't bother to watch. The pain in her shoulder was getting worse, throbbing insistently, and she could feel the boar's claim spreading like poison. The other three arrived right as she nearly fell off the pedestal, wrenching her shoulders painfully as her body tilted but her hands stayed tethered to the post.

"Woah! Kagome, hold on, let me untie you." Sango whispered.

Miroku helped hold Kagome upright as Sango got behind her and cut her ties.

"Are you okay Kagome?" Shippō whimpered from Miroku's shoulder, his little face getting close to her.

She just groaned, her eyes clenched shut as she tried to stop the claim from spreading any more.

"No, obviously not Shippō. We must get her out of here." Miroku muttered, about to lift her into his arms.

That was when Kagome got a sudden, intense feeling of being watched and she opened her eyes. Her gaze was drawn to a pair of red ones that were staring at her from across the room.

"Oh…shit…back away slowly…" Kagome groaned tightly through her panted breaths, talking to her three friends. She could see the way Inuyasha's eyes glanced at the others with murderous intent within their blood-red depths.

The others reluctantly did as she said, and she got Inuyasha's attention by stepping towards him, attempting to shove the pain to the back of her mind for now. His eyes snapped back to her and a deep rumble came from his chest. There was a possibility that he might attack her as well, but there was something in his stare…something that said he recognized his blood inside her.

She could feel a resonance within her as her demon blood called out to him, and she hoped it was enough to keep him from going after her. She very slowly walked towards him, pushing her pain aside as much as she could to focus on him. Once she was within touching distance she paused, looking up at his feral expression.

"Inuyasha…it's okay, the demon is gone. You can calm down now."

He didn't seem to register her words, so she closed that last little bit of distance between them hesitantly. She lightly put her hands to his chest, gently touching him and feeling his pounding heart. As soon as she touched him his hands snapped up and grabbed her arms, yanking her to him harshly, his claws digging deep into her flesh. She winced, the pain rather intense, but the pain in her shoulder was still worse.

Slightly dizzy with agony she looked up into his red eyes. Her hands clenched in his fire rat robe as she gazed into the fiery depths of his hellish glare and she whispered his name, her vision getting slightly blurry. She had to do something, and fast, before she either passed out, or he lost even more control. Doing the first thing that came to mind, she leaned up on tiptoes to touch her mouth to his, acting more on instinct than rational thought at this point. His lips were curled in a snarl, so she got a good feel of his long sharp fangs pressing against her lips. A snarl ripped from him, and for a brief second it seemed like he might bite her.

"Inuyasha…" She whispered against his lips, trying desperately to call him back to her from the brink of insanity.

She felt and heard the shock that went through him, his whole body jerking a little and the snarl stopping dead in its tracks in his throat. His mouth slowly softened against her, and after a long pause his lips pressed back against hers. The kiss wasn't exactly sexy…Kagome was in too much pain for that, but it was intense with the emotions behind it. Kagome could taste Inuyasha's relief, his fear, his regret, his…love.

After a moment he pulled back, his slightly unfocused eyes landing on her and snapping to attention as he noted his claws in her skin. He gasped and carefully pulled his hands free. Kagome flinched as his claws slid out of the muscles in her upper arms, but she tried to keep her response to a minimum, not wanting him to feel badly about it. It wasn't his fault after all.

"K-Kagome! Oh my god, I'm … I … I'm so sorry. I … I hurt you … Shit…" Inuyasha was practically beside himself.

"It's okay Inuyasha…" Kagome whispered, going limp in his arms.

It was finally getting to be too much, the pain thrumming though her making her feel like she really was about to pass out. His claw marks were mosquito bites in comparison. Inuyasha caught her weight easily, wrapping his arms around her gently.

"C-crap, Kagome, are you…?"

He slowly lowered them, letting Kagome sink to her knees and lean against him. He cradled her, burying his head in her shoulder briefly, before suddenly jerking back. "What the hell?! Holy shit! What happened?! Did…did I…?"

"No…the boar demon, he tried to claim me."

"Damnit!" Inuyasha pulled back and Kagome vaguely felt the shoulder of her white dress being cut by his long claws. He cursed some more as he saw the mark fading in and out there.

"Fuck! He must still be alive for his claim mark to still be trying to set in. That bastard! Kagome…I have to nullify this claim mark, otherwise it's gonna take you over….or kill you depending on how hard my blood fights it."

Kagome nodded.

Inuyasha dipped his head, and Kagome tensed, pretty sure she knew what he was about to do. He paused right before his mouth touched her and he whispered, "It's … it's gonna hurt…"

"Yeah…figured as much." Kagome managed to choke out.

He nodded and Kagome winced and couldn't help but cry out as his teeth buried themselves in her already wounded shoulder.

Suddenly it felt like WW111 in her body, her blood fighting the enemy, Inuyasha's power fighting the other claim, and everything clashing against each other. It felt like her blood was flowing backwards in her veins, and every pump of her heart sent shards of pain throughout her body. The clashing powers in her body screamed against each other and set her nerves on fire.

Right as she thought she was going to pass out or throw up, Inuyasha whispered to her, though how he managed that with his jaw locked on her she didn't know. It was almost as if he whispered to her through her own blood, as if a message traveled to her from his mind to hers. It wasn't in words, it was simply the knowledge that she had to relax and stop fighting, because she wasn't just fighting the boar's power, she was fighting Inuyasha too. He somehow urged her to just relax, accept his bite, and let him take care of the other claim.

Almost without thinking about it she went utterly limp in his arms, and one of his hands had to come up to hold her head so she wouldn't pull on the bite as her neck went lax. Almost immediately the pain eased, and now that she wasn't fighting it she felt Inuyasha's essence flooding her, filling her with warmth through the agony in her shoulder, soothing all the aches and pains that the other demon had put in her. It was like he was pouring into her, and his powers quickly started shoving the other claim out, snuffing it like an unwanted grass fire. It still hurt, but much less, and she lazily thought, _ow…_.

It didn't take long, and soon Kagome felt no more pain, aside from the pain from the wounds themselves. She winced slightly as Inuyasha withdrew his fangs from her. She felt dizzy, probably from blood loss and energy loss, and she remained limp in his arms, not having the energy to do anything else.

"Kagome…? Are you… are you okay?"

At his urgent whisper she managed to open her eyes and gave him a small exhausted smile. "Yeah, much better Inuyasha. Just…really tired."

His tense eyes softened and he nodded. "It's okay, just rest. I'll carry you back."

"Kay."

After that, she pretty much passed out. The next thing she knew, she was being gently set down on a hay bed. Inuyasha must have carried her all the way back to the abandoned hut they had camped out in earlier that day.

"…mmm - Inuyasha? Are we back already?" She mumbled, turning her head to look at him.

She was lying on the hay padding and he was rummaging around in her yellow knapsack that she had set next to it last night. He came out with a triumphant "ah ha!" holding her med kit.

"Yeah, it didn't take too long. But you were out the whole way, so it probably felt a lot shorter for you than it actually was."

"Oh…yeah."

He shuffled through the contents of the med kit and pulled out some bandages and ointment, setting them next to her on the makeshift futon before joining her himself.

"What're you doing?" Kagome asked, still slurring her words a smidge.

"I'm gonna patch up your wound, it's still bleeding you know."

"Oh…okay."

He had already torn off the shoulder of the dress, so it was a simple matter to move the shreds out of the way. To her surprise he didn't start tending the wound right away, at least he didn't reach for the supplies. Instead he stretched out next to her and nuzzled his face into her shoulder. It didn't make a whole lot of since to Kagome at first, until she felt the first rasp of his tongue. That immediately reminded her sluggish brain that he had healing properties in his saliva.

Still, she flushed a bit. Maybe it was because they were lying on a bed together when he did it that made it seem more intimate, or maybe it was because they were an official couple now, but whatever the reason Kagome found herself rather warm.

Of course it stung, so that helped her to not get too excitable.

She winced as he prodded a particularly deep spot and he muttered, "sorry" against her skin.

"It's fine…"

He kept at it for a while, and Kagome could feel the pain fading some as he tended to it. She relaxed and let him, drifting in an out of sleep almost. She probably would have fallen asleep if it weren't for the fact that he was licking her.

After he was done he pulled back and she felt him smear some ointment on the spots that hadn't healed over before bandaging it.

"He sure did a number on you. Normally claiming marks heal fast, I should've been able to heal it completely, but he apparently didn't know how to do it right. It's probably cause it didn't stick, it just turned into a bite then I guess."

"What about yours?"

"Huh?" He grunted, sticking the last bit of tape to her neck.

"Did your claim stick?"

"Oh. No, they canceled each other out, you're still unclaimed."

"Oh." She was surprised by the slight surge of disappointment that tinted her voice.

"Why? Did you want my claim to stick?"

"Uh…" Kagome blinked and swallowed thickly. "Yeah, I guess I did."

He flushed and looked away, huffing. "Well, don't worry about it. I can always claim you whenever you want me to. But you'd better heal up first."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

She levered herself up and then winced as the motion put pressure on the claw marks on her arms.

"Oh right, I forgot those. Let me bandage them too." Inuyasha had noticed of course, and he grabbed one arm, cutting the sleeve off the dress with his claws to get to the deep puncture wounds.

"Shit…I really got ya Kagome." He mumbled, and she could hear the sadness and deep regret in his voice. His ears drooped.

"Hey…it's okay Inuyasha, I know you didn't mean to." She soothed, reaching the other hand up to lightly stroke one of his droopy ears.

He twitched and flushed and gave her a look.

She huffed, "I was trying to sooth you. Your ears got all droopy and sad." She flattened her palm and gave a gentle stroke on the top of his head, sliding over his ear with minimal messing with it. "How about that, is that better?"

He sighed and leaned into her palm, letting her pet his head for a moment before he reached up and gently caught her wrist. "Yeah, that feels nice, Kagome. But it's making your arms bleed. Let me bandage you and stop moving, kay?"

"Okay." She let her arm fall back to her side, gingerly so as to not hurt herself.

He leaned over her and licked at the one arm, then bandaged it before crawling over her to the other side and repeating the process on her other arm.

"There. All bandaged up now." He hummed, settling down next to her.

"Thanks Inuyasha."

"Yeah, well, least I could do after banging you up so badly."

She snorted.

After a while she sat up, wobbling a smidge.

"Hey where're you going?"

"I was gonna check on the others. Why?"

"Just rest Kagome, look you're all unsteady. Sleep." He practically ordered, lightly tugging her back down and firmly trapping her with an arm around her waist.

She heaved a sigh, already able to tell it wasn't worth the argument.

* * *

Author's Note:

Okay, so, kind of an intense chapter. But it brought up the idea of claiming finally...who thinks Kagome will be brave enough to go through it with Inuyasha now that she knows what's involved?

This was a mixture of an episode and one of the movies by the way, which I'll be doing more of here and there (combining two chapters and such). If you can guess which movie and which episode I'll give you a pony. :) This one should be easy.

Hope everyone enjoyed the new installation. See you all again soon. And thanks, love, and kisses, to all my beautiful wonderful reviewers out there.


	15. Chapter 15

The next day Kagome woke feeling much better. Her bite didn't hurt nearly as much, and so they were able to set off on the road again. Inuyasha insisted on carrying her on his back though, and wouldn't let her mount her bike. Kagome could foresee a long future of piggy back rides.

They traveled a ways like that, slowing down for lunch and walking separately to eat some of her "ninja food" AKA potato chips, while walking.

One thing kept bugging her, and no matter how she tried to stop thinking about it, the thoughts kept at her. It was the foreboding feeling from yesterday. She still couldn't stop worrying about what would have happened if the other claim had set in.

Eventually it became too much for her and she sidled up next to Inuyasha. "Hey, Inuyasha, I have a question."

"Hm?" He murfed around a mouthful of chips.

"What would have happened if you hadn't nullified the claim yesterday?"

He grew serious instantly, and Kagome shuddered, all her fears already proving correct.

"If someone else had claimed you…honestly I don't know. You already have my blood in you, so the conflict might have actually killed you."

"But say it didn't. Or even if the blood thing wasn't an issue, hypothetically speaking. For example, what would happen to Sango if she got claimed by a demon?"

"There's a certain amount of power in a claim. You would be "there's." I mean, a claim can be contested, and broken even, but it can be tough, sometimes even impossible. You're still mostly human, so a claim wouldn't affect you as much, but it would affect me. I wouldn't be able to violate the claim…"

"Which means you wouldn't be able to be with me. Or save me."

"I'd save you. I'd just have to contest the other demon's claim and kill him, and then claim you for myself. But…there are rules and instincts and … even demon magic involved, and in the meantime you could get hurt or worse. I couldn't just steal you away, no matter what he was doing to you."

Kagome flinched. Yep, that was about what she had figured. It was bad.

Her mind was made up. She'd already decided to be with Inuyasha, they had verbally announced their relationship status to each other, and she would be damned if there was ever a chance for this to happen again. She got lucky once, there wouldn't be a second time. She didn't trust luck enough. She would make her own.

"Inuyasha?"

He turned his head and looked at her with those golden eyes she loved. "Yeah?"

"As soon as this bite mark has healed, I want you to claim me."

His eyes popped open and his ears slicked back in shock. Then his ears zipped back up and pointed fiercely in her direction. "Kagome…you know what you're asking right?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

His eyes narrowed. "You shouldn't make that decision out of fear. There's no way I would ever let what happened happen ever again. Never. You will never almost be claimed like that again. So don't decide because you're afraid someone else is gonna claim you."

Kagome nodded again. "Okay." She thought about it further for a moment. "Yeah, there's some of that. I mean, yes, of course I'm worried about it. I don't want to risk being separated from you like that. But….It's not just that Inuyasha. I mean, I already told you I want to be with you. And, when I thought you had claimed me…I was really happy. If I didn't want you to claim me, and I was just worried about someone else claiming me, I wouldn't ask you to. I'd just come up with another solution."

He blinked some, taking in everything she had said. "O-Ok. If you're sure…then, yeah."

After a long pause she asked, "Do…do you not want to claim me?" in a very small voice, worried that she had assumed something she shouldn't have. She was pretty sure he wanted to…he had even said yes already…but maybe she was wrong.

He glowered at her. "Don't be stupid! Of course I want to…I just don't wantcha' to regret it, is all."

Kagome relaxed. "Oh…good."

The rest of the day passed without any mishaps, and soon they came upon a village. They all looked at Miroku, some with slightly accusatory but expectant eyes, and followed him to a nice looking house. He proclaimed that he sensed a dark aura, and the owners expectedly welcomed them all inside without any doubts.

Surprisingly, there actually was a dark aura, and Miroku proceeded to perform a minor exorcism on a flower pot that had been possessed by a small weasel demon. The weasel demon was ousted and sent on its not so merry way, rather upset in fact that it had lost its comfortable home, but the rest of them all were highly pleased by the successfully exorcism, and the company was offered accommodations for the night.

Kagome leapt at the chance to have a bath. Miroku ordered sake and asked for women. Sango got pissed and whacked Miroku on the head, then spent her time fuming. Shippō gobbled down any food that was placed in front of him. Inuyasha was… well, Inuyasha, and scoffed at everyone else.

And so, after dinner Kagome went off happily to her bath which she had requested. During her special bath time she thought at length about the claiming thing. She inspected her bite, which was basically healed now thanks to Inuyasha's saliva, and she suspected he would be able to finish the job tonight after her bath. So…that meant that it was up to her when Inuyasha would claim her.

She refused to really let herself think about it, what it was that she was contemplating. If she thought about it too much she would remember the pain of the last time and back out like a wimp.

She finished her warm bath after a semi-blissful soak, one that would have been more relaxing if she had been able to stop her brain from functioning, and she returned to the others warm, wet, and at least more relaxed than before. She found out, with some surprise, that they were allotted two rooms, a relatively rare occurrence. Normally they got one and used a room divider between the men and women, if they even bothered. But tonight they would have two…which meant that there was a chance Kagome might get some alone time with Inuyasha. A very slight chance.

Sango often sleepwalked, and sometimes Kagome had noted her sleepwalking her way into Miroku's room. The first time it had happened she had followed to make sure Miroku wouldn't take advantage of her…and she had been quite surprised to see Miroku allow Sango to join him unmolested. The only thing he had done was drape a shockingly chaste arm over her. Apparently even the pervy monk had some limits. Her sleeping next to him had only happened once or twice though, more often she ended up taking the empty bed that Inuyasha had vacated.

Inuyasha on the other hand, nowadays almost always ended up in Kagome's room, one way or another, ever since she had joined him in his room. Even when there was a divider or some sort, she always woke up in the morning to find him sitting in the corner nearest to her, facing her sleeping pallet with his eyes closed and his arms wrapped around Tessaiga. So, that just left Shippō, who she could carry over to the other room and deposit with Sango…if Sango decided to sleep walk tonight that is.

If everything worked out, which was a pretty slim chance if Kagome really thought about it, she would end up with Inuyasha alone in a room. If that happened she was going to take advantage of it and go ahead with the claiming. So she went to bed feeling like she was laying down on pins and needles instead of a soft sleeping futon. At least it made it easy to stay awake.

She waited for a good hour or two, before Sango stirred. Kagome's heart leapt into her throat, and she watched out of the corner of her eye as Sango sat up and then stood in that distinctly dazed, weird sleep-walking way of hers. Kagome shifted and eased her way out of her futon, following Sango and making sure she made it to the room next door safely. They were located in an abandoned guest wing, which was abandoned due to the demon they had ousted earlier. There was also a closet in between the two rooms, so Kagome didn't want Sango to accidentally end up in there. Thankfully Sango didn't go into the closet, she found the room Miroku was staying in pretty quickly in fact, and Kagome poked her head in after the demon slayer, watching as she lay down in the already empty sleeping pad near Miroku's. Once Sango had settled in Kagome tiptoed back to her room, gently lifted a sleeping Shippō, carried him over to the other room and placed him next to Kilala on Sango's pillow. Kilala slit one eye open, looked at Shippō, yawned and immediately snuggled up to the little fox demon. Once everyone was settled Kagome glanced around the room. She frowned when she didn't see Inuyasha anywhere. If he was outside, that sort of ruined her whole plan.

With a frustrated sigh she tiptoed back out of the room and returned to her own, deciding that she was going to just go to bed after all. When she got to her room she lay down on her pad, and was about to roll over and try to get some sort of sleep, when Inuyasha's voice said, "Hey Kagome. Wanna tell me why you moved Shippō to the other room too?"

She squeaked and flinched before sitting back up. Sure enough, Inuyasha was sitting in the corner of her room.

"You…how did you get in here?" She gasped.

"The window. Why? Did you not want me in here?" He didn't bother to move, proving that he didn't really think anything of the sort.

"No…that's not it. I was just…surprised."

"Heh."

After a pause, Kagome decided to put the first part of her plan into motion, otherwise she would lose her nerves. So, firmly keeping her mind on the task at hand, she unbuttoned her pajama top a little ways and then shifted it up and to the side, making sure it stayed covering everything important. Once it was in place she started picking at the taped holding her bandage in place.

She was distracted from the slightly tedious task by Inuyasha's sleep-roughened voice asking, "What are you doing?"

She glanced up. "I was taking off this bandage. Would you mind healing it some more?" Even that small request had her flushing just a little, since she was essentially asking Inuyasha to lick her. She hadn't ever asked him to before, he had pretty much just forced it on her.

He blinked, apparently surprised by the request, but then he stood and came over to join her, landing on his haunches next to her.

"Sure. Is it bothering you?" He shoved her hands off the bandage she had been fiddling with and slid his claws underneath, getting a good hold and then peeling it off in one clean motion. Thankfully the tape wasn't too sticky, so it didn't hurt.

"No, not exactly. Well, sorta…I guess." It had been bothering her that it was in the way of Inuyasha claiming her, but she wasn't going to say that.

"Uh…Okay." He sounded rather confused.

Once the bandage was off he sat down more fully, apparently getting comfortable for this, and then he scooted closer and grabbed her arm, giving a somewhat gentle yank to tilt her shoulder down more. She was slightly knocked off balance and her hand ended up grabbing onto his leg as she tilted. She couldn't help but note the muscles that twitched and tensed under her touch, but she did her best to ignore that as she clenched her hand and held onto his calf for balance. After a slight pause he huffed and dipped in to her neck and shoulder, nudging her hair out of the way with his nose before starting to lap at the almost closed wound. Since it was close to healing, it didn't hurt much, so she was able to more fully appreciate the sensation of his tongue on her skin. It felt good, a sensation she remembered from both his kissing and licking her neck during an intimate moment, and also from before when he had closed her other nearly healed wounds.

She shivered, making him stutter in his rhythm for a second before falling back into the pattern he had set up.

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

His ears twitched as he heard quiet footsteps. It sounded like Miroku had woken up, or else Sango had decided to come back into this room, but he wasn't interested in either one of them interrupting. One of his ears stayed swiveled towards the door while the other trained back onto Kagome.

He had already finished closing the wounds and now he was licking mostly for his own enjoyment. Yes the wounds were still healing under his tongue, new skin forming as he licked, but it was totally closed. So as the person, who he could now smell was Miroku, _the nosy bastard_ , got closer he was left with little choice.

He lifted his mouth off her, letting her know he was done, and then switched to higher up on her neck, giving her a surprise nip on the sensitive skin under her ear. As he had expected the gesture was met with a startled yelp and then as he soothed the spot with a lick and a gentle suck he got a sigh, before she somewhat breathlessly asked, "Hey, what was that for?"

That particular tone had an issue springing even more predominantly into the forefront of both his heads. The sounds had done their job though, the steps halted and then turned back around. He caught the hint of an amused chuckle as the monk retreated back down the hall to his own room.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

She had no idea what had prompted the sudden nip but it had shocked her enough that she pulled back some to give him a reproachful and flustered look. For a brief second she wasn't sure she wanted to do this tonight, not if he was being unpredictable.

"Sorry." He gave her a grin. "I wanted to get a…sound out of you. We almost got interrupted by the monk and I figured that would dissuade him."

As always, Kagome was shocked by his blunt honesty. In all truth she didn't need to know that, and she was suddenly incredibly embarrassed to know that the monk had heard her yelp and was probably assuming all sorts of things. Things which weren't necessarily true. That Inuyasha had done it without some sort of warning at least, or without consulting her first ticked her off. But on the other hand, it meant that they probably wouldn't be interrupted at all tonight, and the fact that Inuyasha didn't want to be interrupted suddenly struck Kagome. She knew why she didn't want to be interrupted, but what exactly did he think was going to happen? She flushed, and accidentally sputtered the weakest 'sit' she had ever managed.

He yelped, but the command was so weak that he barely even touched the ground before he was sitting back up, rubbing his nose and glaring at her.

She winced and muttered, "Sorry," for the accidental command, and then she pouted a bit. "But…that's embarrassing, Inuyasha, now Miroku is going to think we're…doing stuff."

"Well what's wrong with that? Technically we were doing stuff."

Kagome gasped. "Not…not really! You were only healing my wound, we weren't doing anything inappropriate. I meant…doing stuff like kissing and…stuff."

"Yeah…that's what I meant too." Inuyasha huffed, crossing his arms.

Suddenly Kagome put two and two together and a sudden thought came to mind. _Could he…?_ "Inuyasha, do you find the mouth healing thing se- …um, like a couple's activity? Like kissing and stuff?" She nearly said 'sexual' but then backed out at the last minute, flushing bright red.

"Well yeah. Why do you think I haven't done it for anyone else but you?" He said it like he was asking if she was aware that she was stupid.

"O-oh. I didn't realize…"

"Why the heck not? I am _licking_ you after all. If that's not intimate I don't know what is."

She flushed even hotter, and she even felt the itchy warm sensation spreading down her neck now, especially as she suddenly realized what he had probably thought about her healing him.

After an embarrassed pause she sputtered, "W-Well, I just figured the taste of blood and the fact that you were licking a wound would turn you off. Some of the wounds you've healed on me were pretty gross after all."

He scrunched up his nose. "Okay, well yeah, cleaning the poisoned wound on your back wasn't exactly arousing. But it was still intimate."

"Yeah…that makes sense. I, uh…yeah, I guess I felt the same thing when I…but I still didn't really like the taste of blood…" She trailed off, flushing hotter.

After a brief moment Inuyasha shrugged and said flippantly, "Well, I'm a demon remember? The taste of blood can be kinda exciting to me sometimes." When he saw her expression shift to one of shock and then started to go towards the territory of grossed out he hurried to add, "Not that I think you being injured is sexy or anything! I can't stand it when you get hurt! I just meant…geez, it's hard to explain."

She scrunched her nose and said, "Try."

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine…I guess it's just…well for one you're letting me take care of you, letting me clean your wound like that, in literally the most intimate way according to a demon. That's not something a demon does for just anyone you know. Like I said, it's typically a thing someone only does for the person they …love." He paused and cleared his throat uncomfortably before continuing. "So…that's part of it. Then the taste of blood in and of itself is exciting to a demon typically, and so that combined with the other thing…you get the idea. You probably don't find blood exciting because you're still mostly human."

Kagome sat there with her mouth opened, shocked by what he had said. Just that one word, the hint of the L-word, was enough to send her into nearly cardiac arrest and then switch to tachycardia. Her heart pounding so hard definitely didn't help the blood that was already filling her face.

"Oh…I see."

There was a long, slightly awkward pause, and Kagome waited until it seemed they had both calmed down and a peaceful silence existed between them. That was when she started building up her courage to bring up the topic of his claiming her. It took more time than she would have expected, and after several minutes of her gradually increased fidgeting Inuyasha lost his relatively short patience.

"Would you stop shifting around and biting your lips? If you've got something to say, then say it! Or if you've got to go pee or something then just say so!"

Kagome blushed even harder, if that was possible, and choked on a tiny embarrassed laugh. "Crude as usual. I was just…" She cleared her throat. "Inuyasha, can I ask you something?"

He tilted his head. "Uh, yeah? Didn't I just say that?" At her scowl he sighed, seeming to force patience upon himself. "What is it, Kagome?" He asked again in a softer tone.

She swallowed. "Would you…uh, my neck is healed now, pretty much, so I was thinking…maybe you could…that is to say, if you wanted to…"

Inuyasha's eyes got wider as he got the gist of what Kagome was trying to say. He coughed lightly, and then softly interrupted her mumbled, stumbling mess of nonsensical requesting words. "Kagome, just spit it out."

She licked her lips and cleared her throat once again. "Right. I was thinking, maybe you could…claim me? Only if you wanted to of course."

His ears, which had been getting progressively more cockeyed as she went on, went utterly flat in shock and then pricked forward at attention. "I…are you sure you want that? It's only been a day since the boar demon got you."

"Like I said, the wound is pretty much healed up completely. Thanks to you of course. So…that shouldn't be a problem right?"

"Well yeah, but I just figured…you wouldn't want to for a while."

"Why?"

"Well…I dunno. Trauma or something like that I guess." He shrugged awkwardly.

"Oh. Well, I am kinda scared, but…I still want you to claim me."

He swallowed thickly and his eyes glanced down to her neck before shooting back to meet hers. "You sure?" He asked again, sounding nervous.

She nodded. "Yeah, b-but if you don't want to…"

He quickly shook his head before she even finished the sentence. "No! I want to, I just want to make sure that you're ready. But if you say that you are, then…"

He scooted forward and wrapped his arms around her before she could change her mind, or really even knew what was going on. She gasped, surprised by the suddenness of the movement, and even more so when she abruptly found herself cradled in his lap. She wasn't expecting it, and when she felt his mouth touch her neck she jerked and then tensed, closing her eyes and trying to keep the sudden spark of panic under wraps.

He obviously could feel her sudden surge of fear, and he only pressed a gentle kiss to the skin under her jawline before pulling back a smidge. "For being sure about this, you sure do seem tense, Kagome."

"Well, I'm…nervous."

"You scared of the pain?" He asked, nuzzling her.

She caught her breath on a gasp. "Uh…yeah. I can't help but remember what it felt like…" She shuddered, trying to force herself to not dwell on it.

"It won't be like that. It'll hurt, but not nearly that bad. Try and relax, that will help, and don't fight me. If you relax your muscles and accept the aura I use in the claim, which shouldn't be a problem since I'm already inside you, then it won't hurt too much. Just trust me Kagome."

She swallowed and nodded, trying her best to unclench. She was somewhat successful, but as soon as Inuyasha dipped his head and touched his mouth to her neck again, all her muscles spasmed and tensed up again. He just kissed her, pressing his lips up and down her neck. He kept at it until she slowly began to relax into the caresses. One of his hands came up and threaded into her hair, lightly stroking at the back of her head and the back of her neck, which was surprisingly soothing, and then she felt her necklaces drop into her lap. She had forgotten about removing them tonight, but Inuyasha obviously had seen them and had unclasped them without her realizing that was his intention. Her demon powers surged through her, and she twitched at the sensation, but soon relaxed again as he continued to stroke her head with his hand and press gentle kisses anywhere he could reach, branching out to her shoulder and face.

Once she finally relaxed, she felt a light tug on her hair and went with it, allowing his hand to cradle the back of her head and take most of its weight, letting her neck go lax. And then her entire body snapped to attention as Inuyasha's fangs buried themselves in her skin. She couldn't help the yelp that escaped her mouth and immediately slapped a hand over her lips to keep the others back. She instinctively tried to bring her head back up, to look at what was going on, which was stupid anyway since there was no way she'd be able to see anything, but Inuyasha's hand stopped the action from taking place. His hand clenched in her hair and held her head where it was. And that was probably a good thing, because moving likely would have made it hurt more, even just the tensing of her muscles and tendons against the invasive pointy objects in her flesh hurt.

And yes…it did hurt. Of course it did, he had just bitten her after all and left his teeth buried inside her neck. But he was right, it didn't hurt nearly as much as the boar. It was just the bite at first, until she forced herself to relax again, which eased the discomfort. Then, once she had relaxed he started pushing his aura in through his mouth, and at first her body rejected it as a kneejerk reaction to the foreign invader. That caused a good deal of burning and stinging, but then there was a whisper through her blood, the same sort of thing as last time as somehow he wordlessly reminded her to relax. Once again she had to force herself to stop the instinctual urge to fight against the thing trying to invade her. As soon as she stopped protesting it, the aura latched onto her blood and Inuyasha's demon blood within her body seemed to recognize the essence being shoved in and welcomed it.

The longer it took, the more power he fed her through the bite, the less it hurt. The pain eased slowly to a dull ache that throbbed to her heartbeat around his fangs. Once she stopped fighting it, the aura no longer burned or caused any discomfort. It started feeling less like an invader and more like a welcomed friend…or lover. It filled her with warmth as it spread, nothing like the boar's essence, and she surprisingly found it rather…pleasant.

 _How long is this going to take?_ She wondered, as Inuyasha's fangs stayed stuck inside her neck for longer than she would have expected. He stayed put where he was and continued to push his essence into her through the wound. That warmth slowly spread throughout her body, and Kagome couldn't help but admit that it felt very nice indeed. She was rather surprised by how nice it felt in fact, and was startled when her body reacted in a way that was the exact opposite of what she would expect under the circumstances.

It was entirely different from her previous experience with claiming.

She shifted slightly with mild discomfort, not caused by the bite but from the heat building up within her. She was embarrassed by the way she was responding, and didn't really think it was appropriate to be getting all wet and tingly from having teeth in her neck. Of course this wasn't exactly a normal bite, so she supposed it was okay, but it was still slightly disturbing to her human sensibilities. Not to mention that getting aroused around Inuyasha was still embarrassing. Sure, they were a couple now, but they hadn't really done anything overly sexual yet, so she was still quite shy about that sort of stuff around him.

When she shifted again Inuyasha grumbled, apparently not happy about her moving around, and Kagome gasped when the vibrations sent a shock through her nervous system. She stopped moving, but blushed in embarrassment. Really, it all felt too good now, and she was starting to wish Inuyasha would hurry up and finish before she embarrassed herself further. The place he was biting was throbbing, every pulse of power making her tense just a little. It seemed to be getting stronger, which she hoped meant he was close to done. She couldn't help but shudder when he shoved the last little bit in, the abrupt push of power making her whole body hum, and then he withdrew finally. The scrape of his fangs against her nerves had another slight convulsion shuddering through her. It felt shockingly good while also hurting a bit. It forced a very tiny sound from her throat, and as soon as he was clear she sat up somewhat abruptly to try and turn away a bit and hide her burning face.

She quickly scooted off his lap and sat facing slightly away from him while she attempted to get her breathing and heartbeat back under control. She busied herself with refastening her discarded necklaces back around her neck simply out of habit, though she could probably just leave them off right now.

He chuckled, which made her stiffen up even more.

She huffed. "What are you laughing at?"

He snickered some more. "You. You're cute when you're all embarrassed."

That didn't help her any and she only blushed harder. But she crossed her arms and did her best to make her voice sound cranky rather than shaky. She didn't fully succeed. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do…" He scooted up close behind her and she tensed up entirely as he leaned over her shoulder to look at her face. "Your face is beet red, Kagome."

She scrunched her eyes shut. "So? I'm hot!"

He burst out laughing. "Hot, like "in heat" you mean?"

She gasped, utterly shocked by his innuendo. That hadn't been subtle in the least, in fact it was pretty blunt. And it was entirely too much for Kagome. "What?! Inuyasha!" She complained, rather loudly, which only succeeded in making him laugh harder. After a moment she grumbled, "Oh stop it already."

"Why?"

"It's embarrassing!"

"I thought you just said you weren't embarrassed?" He teased some more.

"I…fine. I'm embarrassed. Now stop teasing me." She groaned.

"Well…you kinda deserved it for teasing me."

"What? When did I…oh! You're _still_ cranky for me teasing you about your sensitive ears?" She was amazed he had held onto that particular grudge for this long.

"You didn't think I'd get you back for that?" He huffed, still laughing, and lightly nipped her shoulder. She was still so sensitive that the light touch had her jerking in an overreaction, even though the touch was a good four or five inches away from where he had bitten her.

"Hey! Stop that."

"Why? You seem to like it." He hummed, and she gasped, reminded of exactly the way she had messed with him and his ears. He really was getting even.

"If you don't stop, I'll start petting your ears again." She warned.

He moved back some. "If you do that, I'll bite you again."

She turned and gave him a squinty eyed look, not bothering to try and hide her flushed face anymore. She met his eyes and they had a stare-off, both serious about their respective threats. After a long, slightly tense moment, Kagome blew out a breath of air and said, "Okay. Truce?"

He grinned, flashing his fangs. "Fine."

She sighed and relaxed some, still slightly hot around the collar, but slowly cooling down from her overly excited state. After a slight pause she asked, "So, does this mean we're mated now?"

"Not exactly. That was only half of the first step to a true mating."

"Half of…" Kagome started, then it stuck her. "Oh. You've claimed me, but I haven't claimed you? Is that what you meant?"

"Right. I'm not interested in a one-sided mating, Kagome."

She blinked, and then after a moment of thought she asked, "So how many steps are there then?"

He sighed and leaned back on his hands. "Geez, you sure do ask a lot of questions." When she opened her mouth to either apologize or scold him (she hadn't decided yet), he stopped her with a waved hand. "Eh…I'll answer, give me a sec to remember all the steps."

She closed her mouth and waited patiently. After all, he was going to the trouble to explain this foreign mating stuff to her…a feat which he didn't normally go to. And she was actually surprised he was going to do it at all, since he had been so hesitant the last time she asked. She supposed it must be because she had let him claim her, maybe that meant she couldn't back out of it anymore, a slightly discomfiting thought.

After a very brief pause he continued. "Okay…well, we have to claim each other, then there's another blood ceremony-"

"I thought we already did that one!"

"There's a different blood ceremony, this one is binding not blood sharing."

She scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Um. Ew. Why exactly is there so much blood and violence and biting and stuff?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "That's just the way demons are, Kagome. There's power in blood."

She was still perturbed, but just shook her head and dismissed it for the time being. "Okay…I guess. So what's next after that?"

"…just the mating part." He cleared his throat and glanced away.

"Uh, is that what it sounds like?"

He flushed and nodded.

… _and cue the awkward silence_ , Kagome thought in her embarrassment, fidgeting a little at the thoughts running through her head, questions still squirming around in her brain and making her uncomfortable.

After a long moment she cleared her throat, flushed several interesting shades of pink and red, and then mumbled, "…uh, is there anything I should know about that? I mean…is it the same for demons as it is humans?"

He shrugged, seeming to get even more uncomfortable. "It's different for different demon types. Tends to have similarities to whatever animal that demon's related to."

"Um. What do you mean by that?" She asked, both embarrassed and nervous now.

After a slight pause he snorted, turning his eyes back to her. The discomfort was still there, but he seemed amused now for some reason. "Well, for instance, I've heard that cat demons usually have tiny barbs on their dicks, like cats do. Dunno if it's true though."

He shared the information casually, but also with mirth threading through his voice, the way one would when they were gossiping. Kagome suddenly realized that's what this was…demon gossip, and she didn't really know what to do with the information. On the one hand she was shocked and slightly horrified, but on the other she could sort of see why Inuyasha would find it funny. Mostly she just thought it was funny that Inuyasha thought it was funny.

"Um…okay." She weakly said…rubbing her neck. "I'm glad you're not a cat-demon then."

He barked a laugh. "Good."

After a slightly less tense pause she continued. "So…uh, are there any other differences?"

He shrugged again. "I guess it's probably rougher. Wouldn't know though."

She blinked. "Oh…so you've never…?" She honestly couldn't believe she was asking this.

He flushed a little and cleared his throat. "No."

She sighed, tension she hadn't known easing from her. It wasn't like she had thought he and Kikyo had ever gotten that far, but she couldn't stop herself from wondering. She smiled and responded with, "Me neither."

He blinked rapidly and then flushed just a bit harder. Then after a moment he cleared his throat. "Well…there is one thing you should probably know. Uh, as you've noticed biting is sort of a thing for us demons, so I'll probably do that without even planning to. Hope you don't mind."

She swallowed thickly. "Uh…by biting do you mean like breaking skin? Because that sort of hurts."

"It shouldn't hurt too bad, not after I claimed you anyway. In fact I'm pretty sure it'll feel good." He scratched his head absentmindedly, obviously highly uncomfortable and awkward again.

She flushed, also feeling awkward and embarrassed.

There were several minutes of silence as Kagome mulled over everything he had told her. After calming down a bit, one thing kept coming back to the forefront of her mind. Eventually, she gathered her courage and decided to ask him.

"So…uh, did you want me to claim you too?"

He jerked, his eyes flying open from where they had closed, and his ears perked up on his head. "You would want to?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't willing. But if you don't want to then-"

"Don't be stupid! Of course I want you to." He interrupted her, surprising her by how quickly and adamantly he responded.

She was even more surprised when he loosened his collar right then and there. She sputtered, "B-wha, Now?!"

"Well yeah." He answered as if it was obvious.

She gulped nervously, not at all sure how to go about attempting this.

"So…uh…how do I…?" She mumbled, kind of to herself.

He snorted, amusement in his eyes. "Well first of all you'll need to get closer than that." He snickered as he finished pulling his fire rat robe off, leaving him in his white kosode. He yanked at one side, pulling the neck off one shoulder. Then he folded his hands inside the white sleeves and just sat there, watching her with bright eyes.

She could see the mischief in his glittering gaze and knew he was intentionally making her do all the work this time, probably because he knew it would embarrass her to be that forward, which apparently amused him.

She grumbled and then finally scooted forward. Once she reached his knees, she contemplated how to get close enough to put her mouth on his neck. She figured that the least embarrassing approach would be to go around behind him, so she stood and circled him, dragging the futon pad with her for her knees. His ears swiveled to follow and he tilted his head back to see her over his shoulder. Once behind him she rested her hands on his shoulders, finding the position quite normal given her penchant for riding on his back.

After a second to gather her nerves she scooted forwards and leaned in to go for his neck. She got a face full of hair for her trouble, and pulled back for a second to move his long silver hair to drape over his other shoulder. That exposed his neck enough that she was able to dip her face into the crook of his neck and shoulder without being greeted by white fluff. She stalled again, blushing hotly, then tightened her grip on his shoulders and leaned in fully, leaning her weight into him for balance to keep her stable as she opened her mouth and clamped her jaw on the side of his neck, approximately where he had bitten her.

She was instantly accosted by the scent, taste, and feel of his skin in her mouth, and she felt her stomach muscles clench, a ball of tension settling low in her belly. This wasn't enough though, she wasn't just trying to give him a hicky after all, she was trying to actually break his skin with her teeth. That proved to be rather difficult, the tough muscles in his neck preventing her dull canines from digging into his flesh. She gave it a valiant try, biting down as hard as she dared, but it just felt…wrong. She even tried to picture him as a tough steak or something to get up the nerve to really bite down, and managed a good amount of pressure, finally breaking his skin just a bit and tasting a hint of iron, but she couldn't do any more than that.

"Ow…" The complaint came out slightly sardonic, a little exasperated, and slightly amused.

She unclenched her teeth. "What? I'm doing my best here."

He laughed. "That's kinda pathetic, Kagome."

She growled, a surge of irritation making her very nearly 'sit' him. She held her tongue though, and instead threaded her hands into his hair, rubbing his scalp dangerously close to his ears. When he tensed against her and inhaled a shuddering breath she couldn't help but grin, inching her fingers just a smidge closer to the furry bases. Then she leaned in and in a deceptively gentle voice she whispered into the twitching furry triangles, "You have two choices, Inuyasha. Either you keep making fun of me and I say you know what, or you help me to do this. What will you choose?" And then she moved her fingers to his ears and gave each a very brief tweak and caress, making his whole body twitch and a slight whine come from his throat.

"K-Kagome. That's not fair." He whined.

This time it was her turn to laugh at him. "I did warn you."

He grumbled some stuff she figured would probably make her mad under his breath and then sighed, conceding defeat. He turned around. "Alright, then if you want me to help, ask nicely."

"I thought I just did. I even gave you a little ear rub. I thought that was very nice." She smiled.

He scowled for a second and then his face smoothed, and a tiny smile even cracked his lips. "You're something else, Kagome. With that sort of attitude you'll make a good demon yet." Before she could get offended he continued. "Alright, well first I'd take off your necklace if I were you. You need your fangs for this."

She looked down and blinked. "Oh yeah. That probably would help wouldn't it?"

He snorted.

She gave him a look as she reached back and unclasped her necklaces once more from around her neck, feeling her demon powers coming back to the front for the second time that night. "Okay. Now what?"

Wordlessly he pulled her closer with a loose grip around her waist. She flushed but moved to sit on his lap, putting one knee on either side of his hips and then sitting back on her calves which were draped over his crossed legs.

"Now, don't think about it, just bite hard and fast."

She nodded and leaned in, steadying herself on his shoulders with her hands. This time he tilted his head to help and moved his own hair out of the way to bare his neck for her, which caused a small, surprising shock to go through her system. She supposed it might be the demon in her that made it exciting or something, but she couldn't help but find the exposure of his neck kind of sexy in a weird way. Shoving those thoughts to the back of her mind for now, she took a deep breath and went for it. This time, her mouth found his neck easier to get to and her lips touched his skin for a brief moment as she gathered her courage. She took one more deep breath, steeled her nerves, and then used the previously unnoticed demon urge within her to sink her teeth into his neck. She bit hard and fast, just like he had told her, and she felt her fangs slide into his neck. She had to use a good deal of force to get them fully seated.

When she bit him he tensed up under her, and a slight growl came from his chest. Once she was fully situated he took a breath and with a tight voice instructed, "…feel inside yourself for your demon power. Try to channel it through your mouth."

She grunted lightly in acknowledgement, and then closed her eyes and concentrated all her attention internally. She could feel her demon powers swirling inside her, just under the surface, so it was a simple matter to summon them. The problem was getting them to channel through her mouth. As she attempted a few different coaxing methods, Inuyasha sat not so patiently under her, his neck in her teeth. He shifted a bit and she could hear him grumbling under his breath as he waited.

After a minute or two she finally managed to draw the power to her mouth, and then forced it out that way. She almost pictured it in her mind as if she was blowing into his wound. The demon essence made her lips and fangs tingle, and Inuyasha sighed. She could feel his muscles slowly relaxing as the pain apparently faded. That drew to mind how her own claiming had felt only a few minutes previous, and suddenly she recalled the heat that had flooded her. That instantly made her wonder if Inuyasha was feeling the same thing, and she flushed hotly as she felt that ball of tension and heat settle low inside her again. He answered that question shortly after as his loose grip on her shifted, his hands sliding down to rest on her hips.

She sucked in a sharp breath through her nose as he jerked her closer, the tips of his claws digging ever so lightly into her, only just not painful. The surprise had her clenching her jaw just a smidge, biting him ever so slightly harder. He tensed and then a sound she hadn't expected came out of deep within his chest. He moaned. It was quiet, but it was undeniably a moan, and not one of pain. That had her already hot face flaming to new heights altogether, and her vaginal walls clenched rather unexpectedly as a surge of responding heat went through her. Having her attention drawn to her groin in that manner wasn't helping her at the moment, since she once again found herself inching towards being uncomfortably aroused, and once again found herself getting bashful and shy.

After another minute Inuyasha managed to rasp, "…you'll know it's done when you feel your power return to your mouth."

She hummed, and then tensed when her sound apparently had the same affect his growl had had on her earlier, his hands clenching her tighter and another raspy groan coming from him.

Soon after that she discovered what he had meant when it ceased to feel like she was pushing any more power in, her power simply returned to make her lips burn as soon as she pushed it in. So, she very gently relaxed her jaw and then slid her fangs free of his neck, getting a shudder from him as she did so. As she pulled back she looked down to where she had bitten him, to see the skin knit back together slowly as she watched. It formed a white scar in the shape of a crescent, which made sense considering it was a bite mark, but streaking through the center were two dark red marks, like the streaks that appeared under his eyes. They were short, and not overly noticeable. It ended up looking like a small tattoo on his neck. Even the white crescent looked like a tattoo; it was too perfect to be a scar.

She pulled back, sitting back on her heels.

Her eyes met Inuyasha's and she froze, the intensity of his gaze freezing her in place as strongly as any chain. His eyes were molten gold, half lidded, the pupils dilated, and there was enough heat in them to set her ablaze from the inside out. This whole exercise, from him biting her to her biting him, had been a test of her tolerance for an unruly body. She couldn't help but understand why maybe mates waited until they were further along in their relationship to do this particular ceremony, because with the way she was feeling, she would be more than happy to mate with him, in the true sense of the word. Unfortunately, she simply wasn't comfortable with the thought of initiating that particular step, and she was too worked up to try for anything tamer, like simply making out. If she started something, she would find it difficult to stop, and judging by Inuyasha's tight jaw and intense gaze, he felt the same.

So, to prevent them from going too far, she carefully slid off his lap and sat across from him, holding his gaze the whole time. They sat there staring at each other for a long time, the atmosphere tense as they both held back. She had a feeling Inuyasha might not have any qualms about going all the way, but maybe that was her lumping him in with all the guys in her world. After all, he was holding back, just like she was, and he wasn't pushing her to "do it" or anything like what she had been led to believe a boyfriend might do. She had of course heard stories of girls being pressured into having sex with their boyfriends, but naturally she never would have expected Inuyasha to do that anyways. So she honestly had no idea if he was holding back for her sake, or because he didn't feel ready yet either.

At any rate, after a few moments the tension slowly dissipated, and they both breathed a little easier as the urges within their own bodies started to ease.

And then the silence was broken as Kagome yawned rather abruptly, startling both of them.

Inuyasha chuckled. "Why don't you catch some sleep, Kagome."

She nodded, suddenly finding herself more exhausted than she had thought. She spread the bunched up pallet back out and laid down on it, sighing as she spread out. Inuyasha moved to sit back in the corner.

"Hey, Inuyasha? How about you sleep over here? Next to me I mean." She dragged the empty sleeping pallet over right next to hers until they were basically one bed and then patted it in invitation. Inuyasha's eyes darted back and forth between her hand and her face, gauging the situation before he hesitantly came back over.

"You sure that's okay?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't it be? We've slept together before." She asked.

He hesitated for a moment longer and then nodded and slid into the pallet next to hers. They fell asleep, side by side, intensely aware of each other's presence.

* * *

Author's Note:

So, this was kinda a fun chapter ;)

I hope everyone enjoyed the little hint of lemon in the wind, not that it came to much, but still, gotta keep Inuyasha and Kagome busy somehow right? hahaha.

We're a little more than half-way through now, so there's gonna be an emphasis on story for a little while, but there will still be some cute scenes and some sexy scenes like this scattered throughout, never fear.

As always, thanks to all my wonderful reviewers, you guys keep me inspired. :) Hugs and kisses to all!


	16. Chapter 16

One of the things they swiftly found out about their new bond was that when Kagome had her necklace off, she could sense him, which quickly became a constant source of jokes from the other three. They called her the Inuyasha detector, and the reverse for him. She was just glad that they so readily accepted her demon relationship with Inuyasha.

After that night when they had claimed each other, it didn't take long for the others to notice the new marks on their necks, and that had started the questions. Sango and Shippō had both known what it meant, Sango not entirely, but Miroku had needed it explained to him. The whole mate thing had garnered much teasing and jokes, and they still found great amusement in it, but they hadn't been perturbed in the least the way some humans would be.

It definitely came in handy when she needed to find her rather impulsive boyfriend, although he hadn't been as likely to take off on his own lately. In fact, ever since the blood bonding thing he had stuck pretty close to Kagome, a fact that she was plenty happy with. His running off to take care of stuff by himself had always bothered the heck out of her.

But it came in handy right now, because he had been gone for a little while, longer than she had expected and it was making her nervous. They had received a tip several days ago about a village that had been plagued by demon blood raining from the sky. Such an odd phenomenon was sure to lead them to either a jewel shard or Naraku so they had set out at once, and had indeed found said village. That had lead them to a mountain where Naraku had been percolating his newest body.

They had been unable to stop him from taking the body and putting it on like a new set of clothes, but they had been able to pursue his nasty essence, right into these very dangerous looking woods which they were currently in. Unfortunately, it seemed they were becoming separated by unknown freaky forces and every time Kagome turned around, someone from their party had disappeared into the mist. The last one to go had been Sango, and Inuyasha had finally lost his patience with it and had dashed off to try and find her, Kilala, and Shippō, leaving Kagome and Miroku by themselves. He could find her again easily with their bond and had promised not to go too far, so they had seen no harm in it, but he had been gone way too long and they were both getting seriously concerned.

"Hey, you're the Inuyasha detector right, Kagome? I bet you can find him, even in this disorienting mist."

That was pretty much what she had been planning anyways, so she nodded and took off her necklaces, putting them in the pouch at her waist before feeling around with her senses, trying to locate him. He wasn't far and she quickly set off in that direction, holding Miroku's hand so _they_ wouldn't get separated. It wasn't long before they came upon a very frustrated Inuyasha, who was sniffing the ground determinedly. As soon as she found him, Kagome slipped her necklaces back on around her neck.

"No sign of them?"

His head came up and he looked at Kagome, obviously highly perturbed. "Na, not even a whiff. It's like they just evaporated or something." With a growl he hopped up off the ground and stomped over to them, "Glad you still have Miroku at least, but … stop holding hands!"

Kagome 'eeped' and dropped Miroku's hand like it had burned her.

"Now, now, calm down Inuyasha. While she might be able to find you, I have no such ability and if we were to get separated I would be just as lost as the others. It was prudent to maintain physical contact." Miroku soothed, raising both hands up in a surrendering gesture.

"Huh. Well, just don't go getting any ideas you lecherous monk…"

"Hey! I am engaged to Sango I'll have you remember." For once Miroku actually sounded a tad offended and Kagome covered her smile with a hand.

And so they set off to try and find the others in this godforsaken wood, but soon Inuyasha and Kagome looked back to see that Miroku had also vanished.

With a distressed sound Kagome scooted much closer to Inuyasha, pressing herself up against him in fright. This whole situation was giving her the worst case of heebie-jeebies she had ever had.

"Inu-Inuyasha…what's going on?" She asked desperately as he wrapped a comforting and protective arm around her, looking around now with his ears pinned up at high alert. If he had actually been a dog his hair would have been raised all along his spine she was sure.

"I dunno Kagome, but don't worry, I'll protect you from whatever it is." He growled, his golden eyes flashing this way and that as he obviously tried to find the threat in the mist.

She relaxed some, her hands grabbing fistfuls of his fire rat haori. "Thank you Inuyasha, but…we have to find the others too. Where could they have possibly gone?"

"Well, they gotta be around here somewhere. Let's find them and leave this fucking place, I'm getting sick of this damn mist."

"Yeah. Me too."

They had barely taken a step before someone new spoke up, making them both tense and whirl around, Inuyasha swiftly drawing Tessaiga and Kagome loading her bow with an arrow.

"Oh, I'm sorry, does my mist bother you?"

They were faced by a guy who looked a whole lot like Gatenmaru, that despicable moth demon who had driven Inuyasha into going berserk.

He looked so much like him in fact that Kagome gasped, "Gatenmaru?"

"Wrong I'm afraid. I'm Garamaru, not Gatenmaru."

"Oh, so you knew him, huh? Coming to get a little revenge are ya?"

"And you must be Inuyasha, the man who killed my brother. Naraku was right…I did find you here."

"Naraku? Inuyasha! It was a trap! Naraku must have lured us here on purpose!" Kagome gasped, her fingers tightening spastically on the wood of her bow.

"Yeah, well it's gonna blow up in his face, cause I'm gonna shred this guy."

The moth demon named Garamaru laughed. "Oh you are, are you? Well then, come at me!"

Inuyasha certainly didn't need permission, he was already on the attack. Kagome aimed her bow, waiting for a clean shot, but was somewhat distracted by some glowing blue mist that came flying out from around Inuyasha, who must have blocked some sort of attack. That didn't really help her though, and she was forced to shoot her arrow, fully loaded with spiritual energy to try and blast it all away. She missed some though and it swirled around her, getting into her nose and mouth. In fact, the blue mist just seemed to fill the whole forest floor, slowly getting higher and higher.

"Inu-Inuyasha!" She tried to call out, but her voice was very weak and she started losing consciousness as her body suddenly felt like all the strength was being pulled out of her into the mist. It was slowly suffocating her, tingles starting to run up and down her arms and legs, slowly making them go numb, and she collapsed to her hands and knees, desperately grasping at consciousness. She vaguely heard Inuyasha shout her name before she hit the ground and then felt herself getting wrapped up like a mummy.

That was the last thing she knew before she succumbed entirely.

Suddenly, she woke up, her eyes blinking in the sunshine streaming through her window. Her brain felt fuzzy and vaguely disturbed, like she had just woken from a bad dream. There was a nagging sensation in the back of her mind, like she had forgotten something important, but no matter how she strained, she was suddenly drawing a complete blank as she looked around her perfectly normal bedroom, utterly disoriented.

"Huh, I guess I just had a really bad dream or something…" She mumbled to herself, sitting up on her bed and putting her hand to her head.

With a sigh and a shake of her head she got up and got ready for the day and school. On the way to school, she stopped short, catching a glimpse of white and red down an alley. Turning to look, she indeed saw Inuyasha, but it wasn't his appearance in her time that stopped her cold. No, it was the fact that he had Kikyo pressed up against the wall that had her mouth popping open in shock and her feet freezing in place. First of all, what the heck was Kikyo even doing in her time? And second…why the fuck were they kissing all hot and heavy, with Kikyo's bare legs wrapped around his waist? It almost looked like they were doing a whole lot more than kissing, and Kagome teetered on her feet, her mind awash in shock.

She simply couldn't assimilate this strange information, everything about this scene striking her as wrong, multiplied a hundred times over. The shock numbed her at first, but soon she felt white hot rage, then horror, and finally pain as she went through various stages of betrayal, and suddenly it felt like her chest cavity had grown too tight to contain the organ known as her heart and was squeezing it painfully, like it was trying to pop it out through her chest or shove it up into her esophagus.

It hurt, so much so that she felt her legs give out, depositing her onto her butt in the middle of the street. Tears began to run down her cheeks as she gasped for breath, thinking this has to be a dream, _please god let this just be a dream_ …

And then suddenly she was being shaken awake and she gasped as she sat bolt upright, looking around wildly and then breathing out a deep sigh of relief. She was in her classroom…she must have fallen asleep during class. It had just been a dream.

"Hey, Kagome are you okay?" Eri asked from next to her, and she nodded, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, just a bad dream…I've been studying so much lately I guess I just conked out."

All of her friends who were listening in nodded sympathetically.

The class proceeded normally for a little while…but without warning they had a test, one that she had no idea was coming, and which she certainly hadn't studied for. As the piece of paper was set before her, she stared at the swirling words on the page, none of them making any sense. She sat there, panicking, for the entire length of the exam, getting more and more perturbed as each question proved too much for her. The clock began to tick louder and louder, and sweat ran down her back and face, getting into her eyes and making her hands almost too clammy to hold her pencil.

Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, they had an unexpected visitor.

There was a resounding bang as the classroom door was blasted off its hinges, and everyone shrieked, the entire class put into chaos. "Kagome! You know I love you! Why are you marrying that dumb mutt?"

There, standing in the doorway, visible as the dust cleared, was a certain, fur wearing, wolf demon known as Koga.

The entire class whipped around to see the half-naked demon in the doorway, and then they all looked at Kagome. After a long moment of shocked silence, suddenly there were a million things being said at once … none of them very good.

"You know that freak?"

"What…he loves you? Does that mean this weirdo is your boyfriend or something?"

"Oh my god…why is he just wearing a loincloth…is he some nerdy cosplayer or something?"

"Wait, he said she's marrying someone? Who the heck are you marrying Kagome?"

"I bet she's pregnant, that's the only way she'd be marrying someone this young."

"Yeah, and apparently she's a cheater too, having this poor guy on the side. Geez Kagome, how low can you get?"

And amongst all the harsh judgmental comments, everyone began to laugh…at her. Her horror and humiliation knew no bounds, and she felt like her stomach had suddenly turned inside out as she felt a cold sinking sensation go from the top of her head down her spine. _This can't be happening_.

"How dare you, Kagome?!" Koga bellowed above the ruckus, and with a snarl his eyes began to glow red. "You brought this on yourself!"

And suddenly his pack of wolves flooded in through the door and started attacking everyone, and she watched, terrified and sick to her very core as she saw all her classmates get torn to shreds before her eyes, blood spattering the walls and the floor and the desks, painting her normal every day scene with crimson streaks of fear.

She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, could only watch frozen and horrified as all her friends were killed. Their lifeless eyes stared at her accusatorily, asking why she had brought this horror into the 'real' world. It was all her fault. Unable to stand staring into the glassy blank eyes she ran, her body abruptly unlocking and moving all on its own. But it was like she was running through molasses, every muscle in her body straining against the thick air that was holding her back as every tile in the floor rose up and tried to trip her, sending her to her knees, over and over again until her shins ran red with blood.

Suddenly, out of a door next to her Shippō popped out, riding Kilala, and Kagome shrieked, staggering back out of fear. "Why are you here?! Why are any of you here?!"

And then, her bow was in her hands, and an arrow had been notched and released, all without her knowing how it had happened, and she watched through her tears as there was a blast of light and then Shippō and Kilala flopped to the ground, no longer breathing.

With a gasp and a cry she collapsed next to them, taking both small cold bodies into her arms, their heads flopping loosely on their necks as she held them to her chest and cried, sobbed with hard deep gasps. She had killed them. She had shot an arrow that had killed her dearest friends. She was a murderer.

"Kagome…Kagome! Wake up Kagome!"

With a cry she jerked awake, looking up to see Inuyasha this time, who had his hand on her shoulder.

"What the…another bad dream?" Kagome murmured, wiping her sticky eyes as she pushed herself upright from her desk in her bedroom where she had fallen asleep on her homework.

"Yeah, must've been."

"Darn it all…" She groaned, looking down at the notes that made no sense.

"Come on Kagome, you need to relax a little." Inuyasha said cajolingly. And then he was lifting her up and depositing her on the bed.

She gasped at the change in location, but didn't have time to orient herself, because suddenly he was on top of her, pinning her to the bed. Another gasp nearly choked her, and she found herself staring up into red and teal glowing eyes, as the throbbing sensation of power pulsing out of Inuyasha began to hit her in waves. He had gone feral.

She yelped and tried to shove him off her out of instinct, but he only dug his claws into her arms and pinned his ears back aggressively as he bared his fangs at her. All she could do was lay still and hope for the best, which didn't seem too promising as he used his fangs to grab and then rip her shirt open.

All those fears Myoga had sparked in her returned, and she trembled, her body trying to twist away from him.

Her fear multiplied exponentially when out of no-where his white hair turned black and purple miasma leaked from him, his features completely morphing into Naraku's. She screamed, shocked and terrified as he was revealed to be her worst enemy.

And then she woke again…

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

Seeing Kagome collapse and get wrapped up in a thin webbing of cocoon, Inuyasha lost his marbles. This time though, he didn't go full-demon like he had the last time he fought a moth demon, instead he just became exceedingly persistent and vicious in his normal attacks with the Tessaiga, all the while cussing rather colorfully both in his head and very much verbally. The battle went from the forest floor up into the trees as his opponent sprouted a pretty pair of wings, which he naturally sneered at.

"For such a dumb fucker you sure are pretty, Garamaru." He snickered darkly, sending a barrage of blades of blood to follow up on the statement.

"If that was meant to be an insult you failed miserably, Half Breed. My clan takes pride in conducting our affairs stylishly."

Inuyasha scoffed so hard he nearly choked on himself. "Oh really? You want that I should give you a stylish death then? My PLEASURE!" And with that he aimed and used the wind scar, packing it with as much power as possible.

It just so happened that the moth-man was in the middle of transforming into his full demon form, so the Wind Scar caught him at an especially vulnerable moment and he was split into a million little pieces. The end of the battle was less than epic, but instead of being irritable at the weakness of his opponent, this time he was just glad he had been able to end it quickly.

"Well, that's the end of that then." Inuyasha huffed, giving the decapitated moth head a nice little kick for emphasis. Then he jumped back, his ears pinned to his skull in alarm, when the decapitated head started laughing.

"You really think that's enough to kill me, Half Breed? As long as I have your friends as nourishment, I can harvest their souls and make them into a new body for myself. And then I will eat you! Your fate will be to be consumed by your own friends!"

The disembodied voice faded and Inuyasha looked around desperately, seeing that it was true, the cocoon hadn't dispersed from Kagome. And from the cocoon oozed a toxic mist, one that from here Inuyasha could tell would put him to sleep just like it had done to Kagome. Of course he wouldn't be cocooned like her, since the moth demon's body was gone, but he would still be unable to try to wake her up if he was passed out, so he'd have to be careful.

Still, 'careful' really wasn't a word he knew much about, so he plowed right into the mist and started battering on the cocoon, yelling bloody murder and calling desperately to Kagome, trying to wake her up with every fiber of his being.

"Oi! Kagome! Wake up Kagome! Come on, don't let this cocoon get the best of you…I know you're stronger than that! Fight it Kagome!"

He clawed at the silk, the acidic fibers stinging the skin of his palms and fingers, but he paid no heed to the mounting pain, nor did he pay attention to the way his lungs began to ache. He did however notice when his vision got screwy and he leapt away from the cocoon momentarily to get away from the mist for a second. His vision came back and his lungs eased as he cleared out his system from the poisonous gas, but he never stopped calling to his mate, going between yelling angrily to try and provoke her, to pleading and nearly begging her to wake up and come back to him, before going back to being pissed.

As soon as he was able, he leapt back into the fray, tearing at the cocoon with claws and teeth, mindless of the way his skin was becoming raw. His flesh was melting slowly, layer by layer of skin seared off by the acid, and he grew more and more frightened as he imagined what sort of pain Kagome must be in, entombed in the substance as she was. He could only hope that the inside was coated with something to prevent her from being burned.

The terror only mounted inside his chest as he failed to cut through the cocoon, the layers of silk only respawning after he had ripped through them. As he fought the unyielding fibers he inhaled more and more of that mist, slowly succumbing to the poison. He was dizzy and woozy, and he knew he didn't have too much longer before he would pass out, so he had to do something fast.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit…Kagome! Hang in there, I'll get you out I promise! Don't you dare die on me!"

Blood now spattered the ground from his raw fingers and hands, so it was easy enough to send blades of blood flying at the thing, over and over, but they didn't make very much progress. That only left one possible option…he was going to have to use the wind scar. The cocoon was giving off enough evil to easily create one, but the problem was…he could hit Kagome. Still, he had avoided her once before, and that hadn't even been intentional, it had been pure instinct on his part; so he knew he could do it, he just had to trust himself.

He debated with himself for a brief moment, but it all came down to the fact that she could die if he didn't do something fast. Not one for pussy-footing around once he made up his mind about something, he quickly yanked out the Tessaiga and took a stance. Before he used the wind scar, he focused on Kagome, who he could sense through their bond inside the cocoon. He focused every instinct and sense he had on her so he knew exactly where she was in that thing, then he took a deep breath, felt out the scar and cut through it, sending blades of light flying at the cocoon. He focused harder than he ever had before as he let them fly, carefully routing them so that they would rip through the cocoon but miss Kagome by a hair.

There was a blast of light and the cocoon and Kagome disappeared within it for a brief moment. Then, as the light faded, Inuyasha could see that the cocoon had indeed been scrapped into little bits, and Kagome lay unharmed on a super thin strip of dirt, while an inch to either side of her lay deep, violent trenches from the wind scar ravaging the earth.

He wobbled his way quickly over to her, the earth swaying under his feet as he felt his senses start to shut down. Even though the mist had dissipated, he had already inhaled enough to put him to sleep several times over, and now the only thing that kept him awake was his will power, which was fading quickly too.

He managed to stagger over to her and very uncoordinatedly gathered her in his arms, somehow succeeding in getting them both out of the torn up ground, just in case it gave way and accidentally buried her or something. Dragging them out of the remains of the wind scar used up what was left of his energy and he slumped to the ground next to her, keeping his arms wrapped around her smaller frame. The only good thing here was that the mist had dispersed, so at least she wouldn't get any more of the fucking stuff in her.

As his vision got more and more blurry he focused on her face, forcing himself to try to stay awake as he used his hold on her to very weakly shake her body a little. "Ka-Kagome…wake up…for fecking sake…guh…Kagome…please wake up…"

He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw her eyelashes flutter. "Thank god, it's about time … you stupid woman…had me…scared…"

"Inu…Inuyasha?" She mumbled, her eyes finally peeling open.

He was able to manage a weak smile, and barely mumbled, "Ka-Kagome…you're…okay…" before darkness finally claimed him.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

She was running from Naraku…again…and ran right into the arms of Inuyasha, who wrapped them around her, turning their bodies so that he took the brunt of the attack. She felt warm blood soak her front, and cried out, terrified as he slumped in her hold.

"It's okay…Kagome…don't worry about me…" He gasped, his breathing sounding frighteningly gurgly, like blood was in his lungs.

And then, everything became fuzzy and indistinct. Inuyasha's voice from the dream slowly changed, sounding weird and distant, like he was calling from far away.

The dream started to fade, and she slowly started to hear words, pleas for her to wake up. She could recognize Inuyasha's voice, so she struggled to do what it said and wake up, seeming to claw through a thick miasma to get there. Finally…finally she dragged her eyelids open, her sight blurry at first, but she could vaguely make out Inuyasha's face, only because it was incredibly close to hers.

She tried to say his name, the word coming out broken and weak, but he smiled. She was just starting to feel like maybe it was all over and they would be okay, but then his eyes closed and his face went slack, seeming to pass out. That prompted a quick reaction from her and she scrambled to get everything into top gear, forcing her eyes to focus and dragging herself into a sitting position so she could lean over Inuyasha's slumped position. As she sat up his arms fell off from around her and she realized he had been holding her, as if to protect her even as he passed out.

Quickly looking around, the second thing she noticed were the remains of her cocoon, or what she assumed must have been her cocoon, right in the middle of a wind scarred terrain. She blinked at the scene in shock, wondering how in the heck he had managed to use the wind scar to free her without killing her, but she shoved that thought out of her mind fast enough, focusing back on Inuyasha and his predicament.

He was out cold, and no matter how she shook him or patted his cheeks or yelled in his ears he wouldn't budge an inch. He didn't seem hurt, aside from shockingly bad wounds on his hands, but when she put her ear to his chest she could hear that his heartbeat was incredibly slow. It couldn't be blood loss, because even though his hands were badly torn up, they weren't bleeding enough to warrant him passing out.

And she still didn't see any sign of the others; she had to find them and get some help. And they sure as heck needed to leave these creepy woods. But she couldn't leave Inuyasha like this either.

Torn by indecision, she was left to cradle Inuyasha's head in her lap, combing her fingers through his hair and talking to him, begging him to wake up please so they could go find the others and get out of here. And that's what she was doing when a new voice startled her.

"So, you somehow escaped the moth demon."

Kagome's head flew up and she locked eyes with Kikyo, who was standing a little ways off, staring at her and Inuyasha with a blank expression.

Kagome scrambled up, gently laying Inuyasha on the ground, and then stood in front of him protectively. Her bow was off her back and an arrow was notched in record time as she got ready for another one of Kikyo's attacks. Sure enough, Kikyo notched an arrow of her own, and Kagome readied herself, so that when Kikyo shot the arrow she was able to shoot her own. She blasted the other arrow midair and the two spiritual arrows made an explosion that nocked Kagome back on her ass. She was still scrambling to her feet when another arrow came flying through the dust. Kagome raised her bow to shield herself, but instead of targeting her, the arrow landed firmly in the ground at her feet. She blinked down at it, wondering if maybe Kikyo had been knocked for a loop to give her such bad aim, but then a light bloomed from the tip of the arrow and suddenly the ground fell away from under her feet. With a shriek she was helpless but to fall into the hole created by the arrow, a shockingly deep hole.

"Inuyasha!" She shrieked as she saw him also fall in, and she reached out to try and grab him, little help that would do either of them since they were both falling, but she couldn't quite reach him. Her fall was brought to an abrupt halt as she was snagged by long thin white bodies and her fingers just barely caught Inuyasha's sleeve, but his weight yanked him out of her grip as he plummeted down and she was suddenly wrenched back up out of the hole.

Her grasping hands were left clawing air as she watched his body disappear into the hole, and then she closed her eyes and screamed, thrashing in the soul stealer demons. It didn't really make much rational sense, she couldn't reach him in time to help, but every instinct screamed to go after him. Still, she was forced to rise up, and by the time she was face to face with Kikyo, she was pissed beyond belief.

"Are you planning to kill us now that you can't have Inuyasha? Is that what this is?" She snarled, doing a pretty good full-demon Inuyasha impression as her voice deepened with anger.

Kikyo blinked calmly. "No. Inuyasha is not dead, a fall like that would not be enough to kill him." She looked at her thoughtfully, seeming to think about Kagome's accusation. "And no, I don't particularly care to kill you, although I also do not care if you die. Your life is meaningless to me."

She looked down and her hand reached out to the struggling Kagome, who spat, "Well then what _is_ your purpose, huh? Why are you doing this?"

"For this." Kikyo said simply, grabbing the jewel shard around Kagome's neck and yanking it free, giving her yet another chain burn.

Kagome winced, and then shouted, "The jewel? You want it now too?"

"I have use for it, yes." Kikyo said dismissively, and then without another word she turned to walk away, waving her hand behind her to have her demons drop Kagome.

Kagome yelled, gasping as she once again found herself plummeting into the hole. It went fast, a moment of terror, a few seconds to look at the hole opening getting further away and the walls flying past. There was just enough time to try clawing at the passing dirt, but that only resulted in tearing her nails and she continued to plummet at a slightly slower pace perhaps. At the last second she thought to rip her fang necklace off and dig the short dagger into the wall, which did slow her down some before it was yanked free with her momentum. And then she hit the ground with a resounding THUMP, one that she heard and felt all throughout her body. She blacked out for half a second just from the impact.

When she came to it was to a throbbing intense pain throughout her whole body, and she lay still, realizing she had at least a few broken bones. She was just lucky she had tried to slow her fall with the fang, because it meant she was now in demon form. If she had taken that fall as a pure human, she would have most likely died on impact, but as it was she still felt like she was the earth's personal punching bag.

She groaned and tentatively turned her head, looking to see if she could spot Inuyasha. It didn't take long for her to spy the red of his haori and hakama and she was relieved to see his chest rising and falling, indicating that he was still alive at least, although undoubtedly he was injured.

Groaning she forced her body to roll over, her broken bones creaking in protest and sending shards of agony throughout her body. She hissed, and froze, before moving ever so slowly, dragging herself gradually across the ground to Inuyasha. Once at his side she attempted to assess the damage. He was bruised and banged up, and still out like a light, but overall he seemed mostly okay, and she breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing next to him. She couldn't gather up any more energy to move and simply lay back as comfortably as she could, slowly arranging her limbs in the least painful way possible. After a few minutes of lying still, she assessed her own injuries, feeling where her bones were broken. She could tell a few ribs had been broken, and gingerly felt of them with her good hand. Thankfully they didn't' seem crooked, so she left them alone to heal on their own. Her arm on the other hand… the bone was definitely not right, which meant she was going to have to set it before it healed wrong. She grabbed her wrist with her good hand, took a deep breath, and then yanked before she could wimp out. Thankfully, that one good yank did it, and the bone set back into place with a scream from her.

That was luckily the only bone that actually had to be set, so now all she had to do was lie still for a while until the bones knit back together, with her demon blood speeding along the process.

So that's what she did, and she blacked out for a bit from the pain, which she was rather grateful for.

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

He slowly pulled himself to consciousness, clawing his way there through sheer perseverance. Eventually, he was able to peel his eyes open and blinked up at the sky, obscured by the walls of what appeared to be a hole.

 _The fuck?_

That woke him up fast and he sat up, looking around with shock to find himself basically at the bottom of a well. In his momentary disorientation he wondered if they had jumped through the bone-eater's well or something, but that thought was quickly pushed aside as ridiculous.

All of his attention immediately switched to Kagome as his memory returned, and he jerked as he saw the state she was in. Her fingers were bloody and muddy, and her body was covered in dirt. It became apparent why as he wildly looked around to try and figure out the cause of this catastrophe and if they were still in danger. She had hit the ground a ways from him; he could see where she had descended, his demon eyes picking up on the finger marks in the wall and a deeper hole where it looked like she had dug in something to try and slow her progress. That something was probably her fang necklace judging by the fact that it was discarded close to where she had originally landed, a slight indent in the soft dirt showing the spot of her impact. Then there were claw marks and drag marks through the dirt leading to where she was now, lying next to him.

He blinked, absurdly feeling his eyes tearing up as he realized she had dragged herself over to him before apparently passing out. Blinking away the tears fiercely, he refocused his gaze on her. As much as it touched him to know she cared enough about him to go so far, he was also aggravated that she had further hurt herself for his sake. That didn't sit well with him at all.

She was breathing okay at least, and he didn't see any deep wounds on her, but undoubtedly she had broken bones so he refrained from disturbing her body, despite the desperate urge to grab her up into his arms and hold her. Instead, he very gingerly touched his fingers to her, trying to assess where he could grab and maybe jostle her a bit to try and wake her. His fingers skated over her form, feeling for anything out of place, and he instantly felt several spots where she was swollen and where bones had probably broken.

His light touch must have been enough to wake her and she groaned, her eyelashes fluttering.

"Kagome? Kagome? Wake up…Come on…wake up…please." He asked softly, his hands going to her face and gently patting and caressing her cheeks to try and encourage her.

Her eyes opened and she murmured, "Inuyasha?" And then they popped open wide and she tried to sit up, saying, "You're awake! Oh thank god!" And then she winced and a sharp cry came from her throat as she froze, her body slumping back down to the ground.

He caught her quickly, gently helping her back to the soil so she wouldn't drop back down and hurt her injuries.

"Whoa! Easy there, Kagome. Don't frickin' sit up…geez."

After catching her breath she asked, "So are you okay?"

"Yeah, just fine, but what the hell happened? Why's there a giant hole?"

"Oh, that. Well…Kikyo stopped by and sort of dropped us in here. She…she took the jewel too."

"Whoa, whoa, back up. Kikyo was here?"

Kagome gingerly nodded.

"And she's the one who carved a big fucking hole out of the ground, and then dropped us down it?"

She nodded again.

"And she took the jewel?"

"Yes…all of the above." After a pause she asked, "So, I guess you defeated Garamaru then…so now what? Did he happen to say if he had caught the others or anything?"

"Oh yeah, he's a goner. And yes, he did say the others were also snagged like you were. Actually, we gotta find them fast, cause if they're still wrapped up then he could try and reincarnate himself using their bodies. So we gotta free them ASAP."

"Shit." Kagome cussed and tried to sit up again, groaning at the pain running through her body.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

The pain had eased some, which meant her demon body was doing its job and healing fast as heck, but it still hurt like crazy and she was going to have to splint some things before she could really move around much.

"Inuyasha. I'm gonna need some sticks to make splints."

"Oh, yeah. Hang on, I'll get some."

He darted away, jumping out of the hole with ease. He came back quickly, laden with long strait branches. "Okay Kagome, you just tell me what size and I'll cut them for you."

"Thanks Inuyasha. Uh…two from here to here…" She gestured with her good hand on her injured forearm to show where she wanted it. He watched closely and then turned to grab a long strait sapling, using his claws to cut it to the exact length she wanted. He used sort of a smaller version of his iron reaver attack and sent long blades of light to cut it into two flat boards and then put them on the arm she had indicated.

"We need some cloth to tie them on..." Kagome muttered under her breath, talking out loud as she wondered what to use.

Inuyasha heard her of course and jumped out of the hole, coming back with her discarded bag, the small one she had taken to carrying around on expeditions instead of the enormous thing she used to lug around. When she could, she'd taken to leaving her big rig in a safe place that they could return to after whatever mission they were on.

He pulled out some long bandages and began tying them around her arm, splinting it with the strait sticks.

"Thanks Inuyasha..." She sighed, relaxing some into his care. Once her arm was done she tried getting up, but her leg protested and she made little progress, grimacing and sinking back to the ground. "Uh, I think I also broke my leg, though it's still in place. But we probably should splint it, just in case."

Once again he cut her some boards and wrapped up the injured limb, working almost wordlessly for a change, all his attention focused on tending to her wounds.

"Anything else?" He asked, not complaining, not fussing, just staring at her and waiting for the next request.

He was being shockingly patient with her, but she certainly wasn't going to complain.

"Um…just my ribs. We could probably wrap them with a bandage just to be safe."

He nodded and grabbed a long bandage and she gingerly tried to lift her shirt, gasping as her ribs shifted a little. He immediately took over, gently grabbing her hands and pushing them aside before lifting her shirt for her, stopping when it was under her breasts and then let her hold it. Once her belly and ribcage was exposed, he set to wrapping the bandage around her ribs.

"Uh…there's one higher up too." She flushed, flapping her bent arms a little to gesture, her hands still firmly holding her shirt in place.

He nodded and lifted her shirt more, which exposed her bra. She was glad she had chosen to wear one that was full coverage today, so it wasn't too embarrassing. After all, he had accidentally seen more of her body before, on more than one occasion. He wrapped the bandages around her chest too, his cheeks flushing just a tiny bit and one ear tilting a little to the side to show embarrassment. But wrapping the ribs made the pain a little easier to handle, as her ribs didn't shift so much, so it was worth it.

Once she was all bandaged up, he very carefully gathered her up into his arms and held her bridal style as he leapt up out of the hole, obviously trying to make it as smooth as possible so he wouldn't jostle her too much.

"Oh wait! My necklace!" She exclaimed, looking back down into the hole.

"Don't worry, I picked it up when I was getting sticks."

"Oh…thank you Inuyasha." She murmured as he handed her the fang necklace.

"Yeah, no problem."

With him carrying her, they began looking for their friends, which was suddenly quite easy to do, now that the mist was gone from this area. His nose wrinkled and he said, "Oh yeah, I can smell that disgusting shit from a mile away. Those cocoons smell rancid. The closest one is over here."

They made for the smell and swiftly came upon a cocoon.

"I dunno how we're gonna get em out though, I don't think I can wind scar their cocoons since I can't sense them like I do you."

"Well, I could try shooting an arrow." Kagome offered.

"Won't that hurt your arm and ribs?"

"Yeah, but I've gotta do something."

"I dunno…"

Not listening to any of his protests she had him put her down, put on her necklace, and took her bow and an arrow, getting everything ready and then charging up the arrow before it was drawn. She wouldn't be able to hold the drawn bow for long, so this was the only way she could do it.

She was getting ready to draw it, gritting her teeth and preparing herself for the pain, when Inuyasha stepped right next to her and placed one hand on the bow, over hers, and his other hand over her fingers on the string. She jerked and looked at him, wondering what the heck he could be thinking.

"I'll help, all you have to do is aim." He answered her unspoken question.

She wasn't really sure this was going to work, but decided it was worth giving a shot, so, taking a deep breath, she charged it up again and drew her bow. Inuyasha immediately copied her movements and took most of the weight from the loaded string, which made it much easier on her ribs and forearm, though it still hurt a great deal.

She aimed and then released the arrow, saying, "Now!" to indicate to Inuyasha when to release his own grip. The arrow flew, perhaps not quite as straight as usual, but still sunk into the silk of the cocoon. She wobbled a little, her wounds throbbing from just holding the position, even without having to really pull the string herself.

Inuyasha swiftly steadied her gently, mumbling and grumbling under his breath, obviously very displeased with her having to shoot her sacred arrows to get their friends out of this mess. But the pain turned out to be worth it when a light bloomed from underneath the arrow, purifying and melting the cocoon away from Miroku.

He was still out, so Inuyasha took it upon himself to wake the monk, mostly by shaking him roughly and shouting in his ears, which did the trick relatively quickly.

Miroku came to with a grimace and a moan, swatting blindly at whatever was pestering him. Inuyasha dodged the swipe easily and padded back to Kagome with a slightly smug grin on his face and his hands in the sleeves of his haori. As soon as Miroku was aware enough to be briefed on the situation, they set out for the next cocoon, Sango.

Miroku didn't wait for them to discuss how to free her, or even wait to ask how they had freed him, he was too busy using his staff to purify the cocoon himself. Inuyasha and Kagome stood back, letting him take care of it. The cocoon was blasted from Sango, and Miroku fell to his knees next to her, gathering her in his arms.

Kagome smiled and averted her eyes, trying not to listen to the soft words he used to wake her, not that she could understand them anyways, they were much too quiet. But even hearing the tone of his voice had her feel like she was hearing something she shouldn't, the gentle sound very intimate in a weird way. She glanced at Inuyasha and saw that his ears were pinned back and cockeyed, and he had a slight pink tinge to his cheeks. Kagome had to wonder what the heck Miroku was whispering to her to have him looking so uncomfortable.

As soon as Sango woke they set off to get Kilala, and then Shippō, and soon their entire party had been saved from certain doom.

Once they were all together again, they immediately set off, leaving the woods behind. Inuyasha carried Kagome in his arms, and she removed her necklace to let her aching wounds continue to heal in demon form.

* * *

Author's Note:

So, kind of a more serious chapter here. I gotta say, it was kinda rough to write, had some writer's block there. Some of these more necessary plot points get a little tedious sometimes, lol. You might be seeing some more skimming as we progress, so we can get to the good stuff. ;)

Hope everyone enjoyed it. Again, I combined a couple of episodes here, if anyone can guess them they get extra cookies and cake. :)

And as always a big thanks to all my reviewers, you guys are amazing!


	17. Chapter 17

After losing their chunk of the Shikon jewel, they quickly began to realize that there weren't that many left. In fact, they found none: zip, zilch, nada.

It was this distinct lack of jewels that had them combing the countryside from top to bottom, listening to any clue of what might be going on. They hadn't seen any hint of Naraku either since their last dastardly encounter, and none of them thought this was a coincidence. But no matter how they hunted, they found neither hide nor hair of Naraku, nor any hint of a jewel to be found. It was getting to the point that they were all becoming rather discouraged.

So, they were desperate for any tips or hints they could come across, which meant that when they caught wind of high powered monks being killed all across the land, one right after the other, they set off to find the next target and try to intercept whatever demon was creating such havoc, and hopefully find a jewel shard in the process. At the moment they only possessed one or two very tiny jewel shards, and it wasn't exactly sitting well with any of them.

It wasn't too difficult to figure out who the next target would be, they only had to ask around for who was the next most powerful monk still alive, which led them to a very old and prestigious looking shrine.

Unfortunately they were too late, and they came upon a scene of destruction, the acolytes of this monk set into disarray and grief at the loss of their master only the night before.

"Damn it all! Missed 'em again!" Inuyasha spat, beyond aggravated at this point since they had been chasing this lead for several straight days now.

"What happened?"

"It was a demon…" one of the young acolytes murmured, still highly distraught. "She commanded wind and carried an infant with her. She laid the infant on his chest, and it seemed that the child took possession of our master somehow…."

"That sounds like Kagura, but an infant?" Sango pondered, frowning thoughtfully.

"I doubt it was hers, most likely it was yet another of Naraku's incarnations." Miroku muttered, his brow also creased in contemplation.

"Did they say anything else? Anything at all?" Inuyasha demanded, ever so slightly harsh from aggravation.

"No, not really." One said, and then the other added, "Well, the woman did say something about the infant failing to find the jewel shards. She sounded pretty…aggravated."

"Hmmm…definitely sounds like Kagura, that's for sure." Kagome muttered.

Aside from that small bit of information, the acolytes knew nothing else. After giving their sympathies they left shortly thereafter to try and figure out what it all meant.

"So…Naraku's looking for the jewel too, huh?" Inuyasha wondered out loud.

"He's always been looking for the jewel." Shippō pointed out.

"Well duh…but he's going to a whole new level now. Perhaps there really is only one or two more shards out there to find after all."

"Which means Kikyo has our half, and Naraku probably has the other." Miroku sighed.

"And don't forget Kohaku had a shard keeping him under Naraku's control." Sango spoke up.

Kagome winced. "True…but they might have removed that by now. I don't know how much more use they could get out of him at this point."

Inuyasha nodded and then rolled his eyes, looking exasperated. "Which means he's probably wandering around without a memory somewhere…"

At Sango's crestfallen expression Kagome hurried to say, "Don't worry Sango, we'll find him."

She simply nodded and followed along, still looking worried. Miroku did what he could to cheer her up, pestering her in his typical perverted manner and earning himself a few slaps for being inappropriate in public.

Kagome and Inuyasha pretended not to notice.

When they were unable to follow the trail any further, they finally gave up after hearing nothing more about Kagura and this new infant incarnation.

Crestfallen, they returned to the village so that Kagome could make a supply run to her world and catch up on some of her overdue homework. Inuyasha tagged along with her, unsurprisingly.

That was perfectly fine with her, just as long as he stayed at her house and away from the outside world. Not everyone was as accepting of the presence of a non-human being as her family, although chances were no one would jump to that conclusion at first. Probably they would think he was cosplaying as something, especially with the ears. Still, she didn't want to risk him making a scene, or worse, actually being found out and hunted down by the men in black or something. She'd seen all the movies, she knew how governments reacted to unknown entities, and there was no way that was going to happen to Inuyasha.

As soon as they arrived, they were pounced upon by her family, as per usual, and all the greetings and happy hellos and hugs somewhat helped to take her mind off the conundrum back in the feudal era. It was nice to be able to escape here and not have to worry about that for a day or two at least.

Inuyasha still seemed tense though, and it was obvious that his mind was still fully stuck on the problem. Dinner helped to distract him somewhat, thankfully, but Kagome could still see the stress and frustration in the way his ears drooped ever so slightly and the tense line of his back.

He was still that way when it was time for bed, and finally, Kagome couldn't stand it any longer. He was sitting with his back against her bed while she sat on the mattress, brushing her hair. She laid the brush aside and turned to sit behind him. He jerked when her hands landed on his shoulders and began to knead them, hoping to be able to relax him at least somewhat.

"Ka-Kagome?" He sputtered, his ears going back to point at her and his head turning to send her a questioning glance over his shoulder.

"You've been all tensed up for the past…days…weeks…whatever. Let me see if I can get some of those knots out. I'm sure you've got some right?"

He blinked up at her, looking sort of surprised, and for a moment it looked like he might protest, getting all huffy like he did whenever she tried putting a bandage on him. But then he sighed and turned his face forwards again, just saying, "Sure, if you wanna."

She grinned, as always feeling a thrill strike her in her gut at any evidence that he was finally opening up to her. It had taken a long time. Even after they had become "official" as a couple, he had still been pretty guarded. But it seemed that claiming each other had broken down some of those boundaries.

So, feeling pretty good about herself, she set about rubbing his shoulders, squeezing and kneading them like bread dough. They were tight, the muscles all bunched up and feeling like rocks under her hands as she put some heavy pressure into it. It was times like these that she was glad for her demon blood, because she was able to take off her necklace and get some more force and stamina behind the massage.

As she amped up the pressure, he first flinched and then sighed and then groaned, his head tilting forward a bit as he relaxed some into the attention she was giving him. She could feel that he was still tense, still holding back some and not totally into the idea of her giving him a massage yet, but as she kept at it he slowly relaxed more and more into her rubs, his muscles still knotted but his body posture much more receptive. As for her, she was enjoying it simply because she got to cop a feel. She always hung off his shoulders as she rode on his back, but actively caressing his body like this was different and she got to fully appreciate all the nuances in the muscles of his strong shoulders.

In her demon form she had to be careful of her claws and make sure not to scratch him, and once again she wondered how he did it so effortlessly, even scratching his own nose with the sharp tip of a claw without actually breaking the skin. He could be so delicate with them, while she always felt like she had big knives on the ends of her fingers and it always made her feel so clumsy.

After beating the snot out of his shoulders he was much more relaxed, his head lolling forward, while his ears were all whopper-jawed and droopy with relaxation. And that made it easy for her to push him over so he laid flat on the floor. He hadn't expected it so he flopped face first onto the wooden floorboards of her bedroom with a grunt and then levered himself up with his arms, no doubt getting ready to chew her out.

"Kagome! What was tha- …" He cut off abruptly.

By that point she had followed him down and was now straddling his behind, gingerly, as she worked to untuck both his kosode and haori out of his hakama. She wanted to rub his back now, and the best way to do that would be without all the bulky clothing he typically wore on his upper half. Feeling her sit on his rump and her fingers working up under the material of his shirts must have stopped whatever he was about to say as he gaped at her over his shoulder.

"Wha-what are you doing?!"

"Just hold still, I'm going to massage your back so these have to come off." She answered, pulling on the two shirts she had untucked.

He just stared at her for a long moment, apparently dumbstruck. She rolled her eyes at him and bunched up the material on the sides of his shirts in her fists and then pushed the whole thing up his torso as far as she could until it got wedged under his armpits. Then she grabbed the back and kept pushing it until it was inside out and over his head, looking like a very rumpled hood of some sort.

He sputtered, his head ducking and his ears tucking in tight to his skull as she wrangled the thing over his head, his long hair getting stuck up inside the folds.

"Gah! Ka-Kagome…pfffft…jusft….pfffttt…" his words were muffled by the cloth and hair now getting in his mouth.

Apparently getting over his momentary shock, he finally sat up, knocking her off with a full body shake like a dog shaking off water and she sat up on her knees while he pulled his legs out from under her to sit up on his knees in front of her. She watched as he battled with the material she had successfully wrapped around his head and neck in a deadly lasso and then with a loud huff he dragged it off over his head and tossed the tangled bundle across the room before turning to glare at her.

She flushed, not really having thought this whole thing through, and now she had a half-naked Inuyasha in her bedroom with her. A half-naked, pissed off Inuyasha.

"What the feck was that Kagome? Ya nearly strangled me!"

"Sorry…" she giggled, her embarrassment presenting itself as blushes and giggles this time instead of irritation like it normally did. That might also be because she couldn't help but be amused, given his highly ruffled state, all his hair sticking up and tangled while his ears even looked extra frizzy.

Unable to help herself she reached for an ear and smoothed the white fur back down and he jerked, narrowing his eyes at her and grabbing her hand to stop her.

"I'm just trying to smooth the fur down, don't get your panties in a bunch." Kagome huffed, pouting with disappointment that she hadn't been allowed to pet his ears. That was one thing he still kept mostly off limits much to her frustration.

"Panties? What the fuck are those and why would they be in a bunch?" He huffed, crossing his arms and fixing her with a sour look. He might have heard her mention her bra at one point several months ago when it had been stolen by a monkey while she bathed, but apparently she had never mentioned panties in his presence before because he had absolutely no lightbulb above his head.

Kagome just sighed and shook her head. "Underwear?"

"Under where? I asked you! I don't know what panties are under." He scowled at her, still looking disheveled and making this conversation ten times more amusing.

Kagome snorted, trying to translate what he had just said in her brain. "No. It's a form of underwear…as in clothes you wear under your clothes…?" At his blank look she rolled her eyes and stood, walking over to her dresser. Looking in her drawer she found the plainest pair of white underwear she owned and then showed them to him, trying not to blush. "These are panties, women's underwear."

He squinted at them. "Okay…"

She sighed again, seeing he still wasn't getting the picture. Thankful that she was wearing pajama bottoms, she stepped into the leg holes of the panties and pulled them up to her knees, saying, "Like this Inuyasha. And then all the way up to my … uh, waist." She cleared her throat and pulled them off again and tossed them in her drawer.

"Huh. So you wear those under those tight hakama you wear?"

"You mean my tights? Yes, I wear underwear under my tights, and my tights under my skirt…anymore questions?"

He just shook his head. "That's so complicated Kagome. Isn't wearing that many things uncomfortable?"

"No…."

He shrugged. "Well, whatever."

Curious now, Kagome sat next to him and cocked her head. "Well, don't you wear something under your clothes? I mean I know you wear an undershirt under your robe of the fire rat, so I just assumed…"

He cocked an eyebrow at her and his lips pursed as he pointed with a single finger at his hip.

Still curious, Kagome frowned and looked at what he was pointing at, and then noticed the holes in his hakama at his hips. Normally white peaked through those holes, but now it was just skin and she blinked, staring at the bare skin of his hip with some shock. So he wasn't wearing anything under those baggy red pants…obviously. She flushed bright red and he snorted, obviously amused by her sudden embarrassment.

"What? Ya shy all of a sudden? You're the one who yanked my kosode over my head." He pointed out, which only made her more flustered.

"B-well, that was so I could get to your back…speaking of, I was in the middle of giving you a massage! Get back on the ground!"

It was an obvious distraction, but he just snorted and surprisingly uncurled his body from its sitting position so he could stretch out on his stomach again. He laid his head on his crossed arms and turned his face to look at her, giving her a slightly amused, slightly cranky look.

She cleared her throat and moved back on top of him, sitting on his rump again as she started working on his back. It took a long time for her cheeks to cool down, but having something to focus on helped a lot, and she thoroughly enjoyed focusing on his skin and toned back. He was slim, his frame narrower than what his bulky clothing suggested. But of course with fighting and running everywhere, his sleek frame was filled in with pure muscle. Being able to admire him like this was amazing and she took full advantage, but made sure her touches were just as firm as before so as to not raise suspicion.

His muscles were hard, and she knew a lot of that was from stress, but she still couldn't help but admire the appearance of them as she worked on his back, pressing into his warm skin and tissue to try and help him to unwind. After a while he did seem to loosen, and a deep sigh escaped him as he apparently relaxed into the massage again, and his irritation thankfully melting away.

As she hit a particularly tight knot he hissed and then groaned as she kneaded it harder, his whole powerful body tightening a little in pain as she loosened the painful knot. Then she felt the muscles under her fingers finally release and the knot eased, and with it his body went slack again under hers. He sighed, then murmured, "Hey, you're pretty good at this Kagome…"

She smiled, happy she was able to help. The happiness mixed into all the other emotions pressing against her breastbone, making her chest all fluttery and warm. Just being able to touch him like this was exciting, heck, even just seeing him half-naked had made her flush. The amusement from before was still in the back of her mind, although now it was overshadowed by an anxious sort of anticipation, her body humming with ultra-awareness of every place they were in contact. While he seemed to be relaxing she could feel herself getting more and more ramped up, her body nearly vibrating with energy. Yet the softer emotions, the concern that had started it in the first place, the warmth and happiness she felt at being allowed to help him, the pleased butterflies at his complement, those somewhat helped to ground her.

She couldn't help but be excited really, this was Inuyasha after all, in a state of undress, laying down beneath her, between her legs even, what else was she supposed to be feeling? Despite their relationship having progressed a fair amount, they really hadn't done much physically, the claiming being the most intense thing they had done. They hadn't even really made it to first base yet, not really having the time or place to make out. They were kept so busy demon hunting, and time alone together was so scarce that it was difficult for them to do much of anything really.

They had kissed a few times, but they hadn't ever French kissed, and forget about second base…

She knew he desired her, even if he had never specifically said it, in the same way she knew he loved her, even though he had never specifically said it. She would like to say it to him, but his tendency towards shying away from vocalizing the way he felt made it a little difficult for her. They had made a lot of progress, but actually speaking things out loud was still a bit of a hurdle for Inuyasha.

Occasionally he seemed to get over it and would spout out a whole bunch of stuff all at once, but then he'd be right back to not talking about feelings. It was frustrating for Kagome, but she just had to accept it as part of what made him Inuyasha.

Unknown to her, her hands had slowed from a massage to just stroking the skin of his back, and when she came out of her deep thoughts she realized that he had gone completely limp, and judging by his snores he was out like a light. Smiling gently, she carefully got off him and slid under the covers of her bed. Normally she would wake him to at least give him a pillow, but she knew good and well he hadn't been sleeping well lately, and seeing him so sound asleep prompted her to leave him be. She turned out the light on her nightstand and rolled over onto her side, watching his back rise and fall with his slow breathing.

She heaved a sigh, a tiny bit disappointed that they couldn't have taken advantage of the rare alone time they had right now, but sleep was more important than kissing after all. So thinking, she followed her own advice and drifted off.

The next day she set off early for class. As usual, she found her mind drifting to Inuyasha back home, hoping he was doing okay with Gramps and hadn't broken another one of her grandfather's "priceless artifacts." After the last time he had broken one, it was all she'd heard about every time she visited for several months. And so, her thoughts always ended up going towards the white haired half demon, especially during very boring classes. Of course worrying about him wasn't the only reason she couldn't get him out of her mind.

Thankfully there were a few activities going on at her school that managed to grab her interest, some sort of cultural festival was taking place in a few days. Somehow she ended up roped into several different tasks by her friends, which wasn't exactly what she had been wanting to do. To be honest she had been hoping to get back to the feudal era either today or tomorrow, but now she would have to stay several extra days to do all her duties in the fair.

Inuyasha was less than pleased when he heard this bit of news, and he sulked for the rest of the evening.

The following day, the first day of said fair, she set off even earlier, having to assist Eri with cooking, and bringing some special ingredients with her for it. She had brought home some demon jerky from the feudal era, and figured it would make their dish unique. So, she didn't hesitate to go to the kitchens first thing, meeting Eri there. Thankfully they had been given a short reprieve from lessons so they could set up for the fair, which would start later that day and continue into the next. So they had to get the food ready early in the morning so it would be done but still fresh by the time the campus opened up to the public around noon.

They started work on it, Kagome boiling the noodles first and then turning to chop some veggies. By the time she had everything pre-prepared to go in the various pots and pans, it had already been an hour and she could hear the vibrant sound of bustling students in the halls getting ready. She plopped the ingredients in pots, dropping the jerky into some simmering broth to try and make it tenderer and flavor the soup she was making. Once she was done with that she walked over to the door and poked her head out, taking note of all her classmates running around with last minute decorations, many of them in costumes as they were allowed to dress up and even cosplay today at the fair. It seemed more students than she would have expected had taken advantage of it, and had come wearing all sorts of interesting outfits. Some looked absolutely ridiculous while others really ended up looking pretty cool.

Grinning she ducked back into the classroom, to see that one of the pots was boiling over. Gasping she rushed to the stove to swiftly turn the heat down on the veggies, and then assumed micro-managing all the pots to make sure none of the others wanted to follow suite.

Eri took this time to look at her watch and gasped, saying, "Kagome! I have to go, I'm gonna be late for choir! Can you take care of the rest?"

Kagome nodded; there wasn't that much left to do to be perfectly honest. And so Eri gratefully smiled and ran out of the room at top speed, slamming the door behind her accidentally as she went. Kagome snorted, amused by her friend's lack of time keeping and then turned back to the pots. All went smoothly for another few minutes, and then another pot began to bubble and froth alarmingly. Grumbling under her breath, Kagome immediately tended to it, lowering the heat and taking it off the burner for a moment to settle the foam. To her surprise, the foam did not settle, but only seemed to grow. Yelping, she promptly set the pot down onto a cold burner, grabbing her hand as some of the burning, bubble mess seared her skin.

She turned to run her hand under cold water, which soothed the mild burn, and by the time she turned back around all hell had broken loose, quite literally. The pot that contained the demon jerky had gone absolutely ballistic, and apparently the demon had somehow been reborn. She stared at it, mouth agape, as a mass of glowing green goo seemed to bubble up out of the pot, never ending. The green slime was piled high on the stove top, and was already dripping off the sides.

She shrieked and grabbed a pot from the rack for defense, backing her way towards the door. She didn't have her bow and arrows with her, so she was utterly unprepared for this sort of unexpected demonic apocalypse taking place in the kitchen of her normal, everyday high school.

The stuff oozed even faster, piling up into a green globular monster, and had this been any other situation she would have laughed at having to face a slime outside of a video game. She didn't even know demons like this existed outside of electronics, but now was certainly not the time to be discovering things like this.

Turning, she ran the last few steps to the door and yanked on it to escape, only… it wouldn't budge. Kagome gasped, thinking: _Oh god no, this can't be happening…_

But sure enough, the finicky old door had locked when Eri slammed it closed behind her, and now Kagome was locked in with a demon of unknown danger. She whirled back around, her breathing ragged as her eyes darted around the room for a secondary route of escape. There was none.

The slime was growing bigger by the second, and the main concern she could see in the near future was the thing filling up the entire room, perhaps drowning her.

That thought was wiped clean out of her mind as the giant blob sprouted tentacles of green goop… tentacles that started whipping around, searching for prey presumably.

Kagome hissed, ducking low and trying to make herself invisible, but it was already too late, the thing had sensed her and all the tentacles whirled around and focused on her. She cussed, throwing herself backwards as the green ick made a beeline for her. She charged up her pot with spiritual energy until it glowed purple in her hand and started humming and she began smacking the tentacles with her makeshift weapon. Wherever she hit, the tentacle would hiss and evaporate with a flash of light. It was a surprisingly effective weapon, and she managed to snag another on her way past a pot rack and charged it up too. Now she was playing whack a mole with the tentacles, smacking them this way and that, but more just kept coming.

One managed to sneak by her defenses down low and suddenly she felt a gooey, disgusting sensation on her ankle and risked a glance down. Sure enough it had grabbed her, and to her horror the stuff had eaten right through her tights and was now right up against her skin. She had a brief horrible thought that it must be acid to eat through clothing, and she quickly smacked it off her. She glanced around, noting what it could eat through and what it couldn't. It couldn't eat through metal, that was apparent enough.

It could eat through wood though, and was making some very slow progress with the furniture in the room. She gasped, hissing as she backed up even faster, trying to judge how it was moving so she could dart past towards the metal lockers where she might be able to hide from it.

As she watched, she noticed somewhat curiously that it had eaten all the vegetables on the counter, but had left the meat…and suddenly something clicked in her mind. It was vegetarian slime and was eating anything that came from plants. Well, that meant she was safe, but her clothing wasn't since she was wearing cotton today.

She groaned, watching it crawling around and inside all the objects of the room, seeming to be looking for anything available to eat. She wanted nothing to do with it even if it probably didn't pose her any actual danger. She really didn't like the way it was probing everything, getting into every little nook and cranny. The last thing she wanted was for it to try and probe _her_ for food. She wasn't stupid or blind, she had seen enough anime to know what happened with tentacles, slime, and girls.

Grimacing and feeling like she might throw up, she warded it off with renewed vigor, but it was still growing bigger, and she was having a worse and worse time with it. Eventually it snagged her foot again and she went crashing to the ground, a place she really didn't want to be right now, and she screamed bloody murder as she swung her pots left and right to beat off the offending slime. It managed to wrap her legs, eating her tights and stealing her shoes to search them for food. They were leather so she wasn't too worried about them, but she despised the sensation of the goo sliding between her toes, as if she had flowers or something growing there. She was a clean person; she did not have any moss growing on her feet, so this thing had no need to be searching her there. The ticklish sensation made it difficult for her to fight back as she started fighting her laughter as well.

She was flailing around now in a puddle of the stuff as it discovered the plant fibers in her other clothing, making quick work eating holes into her shirt and skirt. She couldn't be bothered trying to hold onto her modesty, since she was a little too busy beating the thing away from her, and so she wasn't paying too much attention to the fact that it was eating her clothes.

She finally managed to yank herself out of the goop, sans most of her clothing, leaving her in only shredded and thread bare cloth that covered pretty much nothing. It snagged her leg again and pulled her back, and she grabbed onto the counter with a few fingers from around the handle of her pot, managing to heft her breasts up onto the counter and lock an elbow over the corner. With her free hand she blindly swatted at the goop below, which was crawling up her thighs in a highly disconcerting manner.

It was tug of war now, and she managed to inch her body up further onto the one and only free counter, which just luckily managed to be next to her, though she could see slime already crawling up the sides. She abruptly became aware of the unexpected dangers of the stuff as a tentacle snapped towards her face, managing to catch her off guard enough to stuff itself into her mouth and up her nose, apparently under the impression that she was smuggling veggies in those orifices. She abandoned her legs and swung her pot as hard as she could to smack the goo attached to her face and it blasted apart. She gasped in a breath of air, thoroughly frightened and also getting pretty pissed.

The second emotion blasted everything else away in a tidal wave of fury as her abandoned lower half was suddenly accosted by some very grabby and exceptionally forward tentacles. Fury seared her as she felt the goo invade her in a very rapey way, eating her underwear and proceeding to search for more food. Before it could even try to do what she was sure it was about to, she yelled, and the sound came out as more of a roar than anything else. Her demon powers had been awoken with her fury.

She didn't notice the fang at her neck glowing, desperately trying to keep a cap on her powers that she had kept bottled up for two straight days. Aside from comfort, taking her necklace off when she slept let her demon blood breathe, but in her world she kept it on at all times. So now her energy was extra eager to get out, and that turned out to be a good thing.

Since her priestess powers were in effect, the added small amount of demonic energy didn't swamp her, but rather amplified her power and the two pots began to glow red hot. She let go of the counter and spun to whack the offending goo, and the whole lot of it that had wrapped around her thighs went up in smoke. As soon as she was free she jumped up onto the freestanding counter, and started whacking anything even remotely close to the color green that got near her.

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

Inuyasha had been alerted to the situation when Kagome's grandfather attempted boiling some jerky at the house, resulting in the spawning of a demon that he promptly killed. That had led to him finding out that Kagome had taken the rest of it with her to school, and he set off immediately to try and prevent the same thing from happening.

He barreled down the halls, paying no heed to the strange decorations and oddly dressed people, and mostly they ignored him as well. He was singularly focused on finding Kagome, and he followed both her scent and the bond between them to locate her, but heard her long before he got remotely close to her location. She screamed, her voice feral and he upped the pace significantly until he was just a red blur plowing through people.

He arrived at a locked door, behind which he could hear the sounds of a rather heated battle, and he busted the door down without a second thought.

The scene he came upon made him freeze though, and his jaw dropped as he took in the sight of Kagome, barely clothed, standing on an odd platform of some sort, surrounded on all sides by green slime, and wielding what seemed to be small metal shields with devastating effect. Her face was ferocious, her amber eyes almost glowing and flashing dangerously, and the strange weapons she was wielding were glowing red. Every time she connected with the slime it was blasted back in a shower of sparks and steam as it evaporated right back to the blob body still sitting on the stove.

Being that she was barely clothed at all, Inuyasha was struck with dumbness and immobility for a long moment, unable to do much more than stare at her. Fighting as she was, she had worked up a pretty good sweat and her skin glistened slightly, her hair sticking to her face. The shredded remnants of her clothing did little to hide her form, and as she moved Inuyasha was relatively surprised to note the strong muscles in her legs and arms, undoubtedly built from running and fighting alongside him. She still had plenty of curves though, and he found himself having to shake his head and slap his own face a few times before getting up enough wherewithal to leap into the fray, being just mindful enough to wedge the door back in its frame for the time being until they had cleaned up this mess.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed, only noticing him as he leaped in front of her, heading straight for the body of the demon.

"Keep it busy Kagome, I'll kill the main body."

Kagome nodded and set to beating it back, occupying it pretty good while he drew Tessaiga and slashed it through the thick gooey blob that made up the giant body of the thing. It splattered apart and then slowly began to dissolve, the goo disappearing as it died.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

With great relief she saw the green ooze disappear and she abruptly became aware of her slightly wobbly legs and sat down swiftly where she was perched on the counter.

The two pans dropped out of her numb fingers and clattered to the ground as she took in the sheer destruction of the kitchen. It was pretty massive in scale.

"What am I going to tell Eri?" She wondered out loud, not sure how she was going to salvage the food.

"Huh?"

She glanced over at Inuyasha, who for some reason refused to look at her, his face stained red. "I said, I don't know what I'm going to do to cover up this mess. I'm going to get in so much trouble…"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Say it was an explosion, or a fire, or something. It was an accident, I'm sure we can come up with something."

Kagome nodded, still numb with shock that that had just happened. Then she happened to glance down and noted her state of undress. With a shriek she covered herself. "Oh my god! I'm practically naked!" the word naked was squeaked in a very high pithed tone, and she flushed twenty shades of red, wondering what the hell she was going to do now.

She didn't have to wonder too long as Inuyasha draped his red coat over her. "Here, wear this until we figure something else out."

"…thanks." She put her arms through the sleeves and tied it in the front. Thankfully it went to her thighs, so it would do for a dress, but it was still embarrassing, especially since she didn't have on any underwear to speak of underneath.

They cleaned things up as much as they could, getting everything into some semblance of order, and Kagome was pleasantly surprised with how they were able to pretty much hide the evidence of what had happened. The only problem was food.

"I have to find food…where am I going to find food…"

"Why don't you just go buy some." Inuyasha asked, scraping some left over goo from the ceiling with his Tessaiga.

"That's a great idea! I think it might just work." Kagome exclaimed, and shortly they were off, her riding his back and trying to ignore the breeziness around her behind. His coat was covering her, but it felt very weird. With Inuyasha's speed they made it to the nearest grocery, and purchased every single premade item they could before running back to the school. Kagome hastily put it all on platters, right as Eri was coming back and luckily Inuyasha made himself scarce.

Thankfully the rest of the day went relatively smoothly, and Kagome was able to get away with the leftover mess with an excuse of there having been some sort of chemical explosion under one of the sinks. How anybody believed that she didn't know, but with the help of some ketchup and her shredded clothing she was able to convince them she had been burned in the blast. Her clothing at least looked realistic, because it actually had been eaten, but how anyone bought the ketchup Kagome wasn't sure. Of course she also didn't know why anyone actually thought she had rheumatism and gout and whatever else her grandfather had cooked up by now, so maybe they were all just a little slow on the uptake.

So by the end of the day she had been excused from the rest of the fair, which was a huge relief since she hadn't really wanted to participate to begin with. It was just added stress on her already overworked self.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hey everyone, sorry for the delay in this chapter, life happened.

Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed my re-imagining of the cultural festival. I just couldn't resist. ;P

As always, a big thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far.


	18. Chapter 18

Upon her return to the feudal era, Kagome climbed out of the well, heaving her yellow bag out in front of her. Inuyasha had gone ahead of her a few minutes ago, when he ran out of patience waiting as she said very lengthy goodbyes and was held back by her family handing her various items for the road. When he didn't show up on the other side of the well, she assumed he had taken her word for it when she told him to go and tell the others that she was coming back. He was sulking in other words, and so he was letting her climb out of the well under her own power.

Despite having a closer bond and getting along much better these days, he still possessed a mercurial mood and a propensity to sulk for lengthy periods of time.

With an exasperated sigh, she hauled herself out of the well, following her bag, and sat on the rim, dangling her legs in the tall grass and squinting to let her eyes adjust to the bright sunlight. She really did love it here in the feudal era, everything was so beautiful, if only they had showers…

Her musing was abruptly and rudely interrupted with a jolt as she suddenly sensed a malevolent presence, a cold shiver skittering down her back. She immediately went on high alert and started trying to pinpoint the demonic presence. It was low to the ground, hiding in the grass it seemed, and was traveling at a brisk pace, right at her. As soon as she realized its trajectory, she made to stand on the rim of the well, but not quite fast enough as a large snake suddenly reared up out of the grass and struck her on the ankle.

She screamed, mostly out of surprise at how fast the darn thing had been, biting and then disappearing just as quickly as it had shown up. There was no way she could have shielded herself, nor was there any way for her to catch it after it escaped. The shock of it all, and being caught right in the middle of trying to get herself up on the well meant that she went tumbling back into it, and not at a good angle either. The way she was falling, she was sure to bash her head on the other side of the well on her way down, and she threw up her arms to try and protect her skull as much as possible.

Her shriek worked to catch the attention of her mate, as did the scent of her blood undoubtedly, and Inuyasha popped out of the woodwork only a few second later. Her grabbed her out of thin air as she fell, catching her only moments before she smacked into the rocks.

She gasped, her breath knocked out from his scooping her out of her fall as he leapt across the well.

"Kagome! What happened?" He barked, his ears already up and alert and his eyes scanning the surroundings for the threat.

"It was a snake…I think. It was gone so fast I couldn't really get a good look at it, but it definitely possessed a demonic presence." She responded, nervous. The bite hurt, but mostly she was concerned about the creature itself. It hadn't felt like any normal demon, it had felt off somehow, and she was sure that it meant something bad was going to happen. Demons didn't behave like that typically, a hit and run was usually mortal animals not demons.

Inuyasha seemed to agree. "Hold on, let me do a quick run around to check the area."

He darted off, and after a moment he came back with shreds of paper, looking even more perturbed than before. "I have no fucking clue what this is, but I attacked it. It's just paper though."

Kagome peered into his hand and looked at the shreds of paper with some sorts of markings printed all over them. "Yeah, I don't know either Inuyasha. Let's take them back to Kaede."

He nodded, still looking troubled as he insisted on carrying her back to Kaede immediately, scooping up her bag on the way and swinging it over his shoulder effortlessly.

Later that evening…

"It looks like a normal snake bite to me, Kagome…" Kaede said as she looked at her ankle. "At least it was not poisonous. Still, let me put a poultice on it."

"No need, I'll take care of it later…" Inuyasha said absentmindedly, not seeming to pay attention to what he was saying.

Kagome on the other hand, was paying close attention suddenly, and flushed, not comfortable with his saying that in front of other people. Thankfully Kaede didn't make a big deal out of it, only raising one eyebrow.

"Well, do as ye wish Inuyasha."

"Yeah. Sure. Hey, take a look at this would ya? We found this in the meadow earlier."

He handed Kaede the shreds of paper.

"This is a Shikigami." She finally pronounced.

"What?" Kagome asked, not familiar with the word.

"I believe that this is the paper of a Shikigami, a curse from a wicked priestess. If I am correct, Kagome has been placed under a curse."

"WHAT?!" Inuyasha spat, standing up and looking livid.

"Yes. It would be best for you to stay here until the curse manifests and we can cure her."

Everyone agreed, and so they set about making ready for the night, since it was already darkening outside. As they all rather tensely ate dinner, Inuyasha seemed particularly perturbed, looking like he was deep in thought.

"What is it?" Kagome finally asked.

"There was a scent in the meadow…and I know I've smelled it before. But I just can't quite place it." He finished with a frustrated growl, obviously very cranky about not remembering where the scent had come from.

Once everyone else had fallen asleep, Inuyasha briskly tended to the wound on her ankle, getting it done swiftly so that the others wouldn't have the chance to wake and interrupt them. Despite the quick treatment, it was still nice to have a little contact with Inuyasha. Once finished, Kagome and Inuyasha bunked down on their side of the cabin, Inuyasha sitting next to her against the wall as she snuggled into her sleeping bag.

In the middle of the night, Kagome felt a strange surge of dark energy pulsing at her waist, where the scant few shards of the jewel they had managed to collect were located. It woke her instantly and she groggily brought the little glass bottle out to inspect. To her confusion it seemed the shards were black, and she woke a bit more, looking at them closely to verify they were indeed black. As she leaned in, the little bottle shattered and suddenly the shards flew at her. With a gasp she jerked back, but they sunk into her throat. She didn't even have time to call out and wake the others. With a sharp blast of pain that wiped her mind numb she fell back into her sleeping bag, her vision going black.

She had passed out within the cabin, so Kagome was even more perturbed to wake up outside of it. She was disoriented momentarily, realizing she was standing outside the door of the cabin. Turning to go back inside, she stopped, suddenly unable to move. Immediately terror shot through her as she remembered what had previously happened, the fright making her wake up entirely from her befuddlement to realize that she did not have control over her own body; she couldn't even call out for help.

Her body was forced to face the dirt road leading from Kaede's hut and out the village, and set off down it, helpless to resist whatever was controlling her so absolutely. Numb with terror, she fought it as best she could, but the spell, or whatever it was, was too powerful. She was led down the road for a ways, and all she could hope for was that Inuyasha would wake and come after her. Undoubtedly that is exactly what he would have done, except that as soon as she had left the village, she found herself picked up by some unseen hand above her. For a brief second she had the wild hope that it was Inuyasha come to save her, but when she wasn't pulled into his arms but was instead tossed dismissively across the back end of a giant flying feather, she had the cold realization of who exactly had picked her up.

It must be Kagura, and flying in this manner would insure that Inuyasha could not use her scent to track her.

She lay still, unable to do anything else, as she was carted who knows where on the back of Kagura's feather. Eventually they came to a stop and she was unceremoniously dumped to the ground while the feather shrunk to be caught by the wind demon as she stepped inside a temple.

"That witch at least is good for her word, this stupid girls doesn't seem able to move a single muscle. She should be easy for you to handle."

"Bring me to her." A new voice said, and Kagome stiffened, wishing she could run. There was something about that voice that was incredibly wrong, it was so young, but so evil, and it sent shivers down her spine while gooseflesh rose on her skin.

She was flipped over with a kick and she looked up to see Kagura holding what looked to be a baby of all things, except as Kagome met the child's red eyes, she abruptly realized that it was no human baby. It, whatever that thing was, was no human…it was a monster of some sort. This must be the child that the acolytes spoke of, she realized, which made sense now. It was undoubtedly another incarnation of Naraku's as they had supposed.

The thing was set on her chest and it sat up somewhat, raising chubby hands to her face.

She cringed, trying to pull back out of sheer terror, but only managed a small twitch for all of her effort. However, her fear must have shown in her eyes because the demon child grinned and asked, "What's wrong? Are you scared?"

She could only look back at him mutely.

"Don't worry, I only need your eyes."

That didn't help her feel any better about the situation as she half expected the demon to try to pluck out her eyeballs now. As he approached she shut her eyes, allowed that small motion at least, but surprisingly she felt nothing on her eyes, only tiny hands holding her cheeks.

"Open your eyes, let me look into them." He demanded, and of their own accord her eyes opened.

Glowing red eyes took up all of her vision as she felt like she was being sucked into the child's gaze, and suddenly a piercing pain shot through her skull. The pain spread throughout her whole being, not focused really on her physical body so much as it felt like it was in her soul somehow, if that was even possible. It felt so utterly wrong, like the worst possible kind of invader, even worse than that awful pig demon trying to claim her. That had only felt like the boar's power was defiling her blood, this felt like her very being was in the process of being shredded, torn apart as he hunted for something within her.

Her eyes were burning with the pain, and she could feel warm wetness dripping down her cheeks, and she could only assume that she was crying now, but she couldn't really see anything but red.

This was rape…pure and simple.

This kid, another incarnation of Naraku presumably, was ripping her inside out, in the worst possible way…and it _hurt_. If she could have screamed she would have, but her jaw was locked by whatever power held the rest of her immobile. The agony had no outlet, only her tear ducts seemed able to respond and express her pain, and the liquid dripped from her chin and slipped in rivulets down her neck unchecked and unending, rivers of pain and fear and horror and disgust made manifest.

"I can't find any darkness in this girl to use her! Who is she?! There _must_ be something!" The child growled, seeming highly perturbed.

"Ha, so even _your_ powers have limits…" Kagura muttered from the corner, which only seemed to make the infant madder.

He ramped up his efforts, which only hurt Kagome more, and a groan did manage to escape her strangled throat as she felt his digging little fingers tearing through her insides, feeling like claws raking through her heart and soul.

Finally after an indeterminable amount of time, he exclaimed "Aha! I found it…you're love for the half-demon Inuyasha and your jealousy and unease about the priestess Kikyo…these will allow me to unlock your heart and possess your powers of sight."

Suddenly he delved deeper into her than before, as if the previous scratches were nothing more than him scraping at the surface of her. Now she felt paralyzed, no longer just by the spell she was under, but by the grip this child now had on her, seeming to reach right through her flesh and bore into her chest, gripping her still beating heart in his tiny fist. It was worse than she could have possibly imagined.

"Yes…she can see the jewels…now…to finally find the last jewel shards…ah, as expected, the priestess kept one for herself…but the last one…it is…I can't find it…" He used her harder, her aches just getting worse. Finally he sighed, sounding frustrated. "The final shard must not be a part of this world, somehow."

Finally she was released from his grasp. And with a gasp she weakly scrambled back, the other spell seeming to be temporarily broken from his probing her.

She curled into a shaking ball in the corner, trying to get it together enough to attempt an escape, but whatever the boy had done had shaken her to her very core and every part of her body was trembling.

"Well…what now? What do you want to do with the girl?"

"Keep her. She can lead us to Kikyo and her jewel shard at the very least, and then perhaps I can use her to find out where the last one is hidden, even if it is in another world. We will just have to increase her power somehow."

With a sigh Kagura approached Kagome, and in a blind panic she grabbed her only weapon, the fang around her neck. Yanking the necklace off she bared her fangs and pressed herself closer against the wall, not about to go anywhere with these two. The demon blood surging through her veins once again helped to steady her some, not a lot, but enough that she was able to shakily get to her feet.

Kagura stalled, raising an almost amused brow at Kagome for her obstinance.

"It seemed you broke that witch's spell with whatever you did. She's not as complacent as before."

"I'm sure Tsubaki will regain control over her soon, otherwise we will kill the dark priestess for her ineptitude."

Kagura heaved another long suffering sigh and then made to come at Kagome again. Kagome, however, was having none of that, and shrieked bloody murder, clawing with one hand and wildly wielding her little dagger with the other. It didn't do her much good, Kagura just sent a sharp gust of wind to smack her back into the wall and she fell to her knees on the ground, her body still shaky and weak from whatever the child did to her.

She managed to haul her butt across the floor on hands and knees, making for the only exit, a sliding door of some sort. After crawling for a few scrambling steps, she finally managed to scramble to her feet and ran towards the door, tripping over herself as she went.

Kagura caught her hair, which stalled her progress as her head was yanked back. She yelped and grabbed her hair to prevent it from being yanked out of her scalp and spun to look at Kagura, clawing at her to try and free herself. She could already feel the beginnings of a black-out as her vision started to blur some, and in a last desperate attempt she screamed, "INUYASHA!"

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

He was already close when he heard Kagome scream, and with a burst of demonic power he was flying through the air and crashing through the front doors of the small mountainside shrine where he could sense Kagome and could smell her scent. As he blasted through the doors, Kagome spun, gasping his name again and then collapsed. He darted forwards, and in one movement scooped her up and clawed at Kagura to force her to release Kagome.

His eyes glanced down at his mate cradled in his arms, trying to briefly assess the damage, and froze when he saw her face. From her eyes were streaks of what looked like…blood. They lined her cheeks and even dripped down her neck. It was as if she had been crying blood somehow, which almost made him turn into a full demon right there on the spot.

With a vicious snarl he turned to Kagura and the boy in front of him. He could see his reflection in a mirror set on an alter behind them, and he could see that his eyes had turned red, but maintained the golden iris … although, to be perfectly honest he didn't give a fuck what he looked like at the moment. Even the telltale sign that he was going full demon didn't faze him; he was much too pissed to care.

Setting the limp Kagome gently aside, never taking his eyes off the two demons in front of him, he drew his sword, having just enough presence of mind to know he should probably use the Tessaiga to make sure he didn't lose full control.

"Well, aren't you extra feisty today, Inuyasha. You know you can't beat me." Kagura said smugly, safe in the knowledge that Kagome was passed out and couldn't purify her winds to let Inuyasha use his wind scar.

His eyes narrowed, and for once he didn't really feel like saying anything, he had gone past his normal chatty personality into a realm of nearly feral. His unexpected silence seemed to slightly unnerve Kagura.

"What, no snappy come back? That's unlike you, you brash mutt. Usually you're so obnoxiously loud."

He growled, the sound coming out of his chest deep and menacing and full of fury. "What the hell did you do to Kagome?" He finally asked, his voice just as deep as the snarl still rumbling in his throat.

Kagura blinked. "Uh…don't ask me. I'm just following orders lugging this brat around and doing his bidding."

Inuyasha's eyes flicked down to the infant held in her arms. "So it was you who hurt her?"

He wasn't even shocked when the infant turned its head and fixed red eyes on him, smiling and saying in a smooth smug voice, "I merely needed to borrow her sight for a while to find the last jewel shards. She is unharmed." The words weren't meant to be soothing; they were much too smug and self-entitled for that.

"Bastard." Inuyasha spat, and without further ado he lunged forward, his sword swinging so fast neither demon had time to dodge. Kagura gasped and staggered back under the assault, only just barely managing to get up a wind shield to deflect the fatal blow.

Inuyasha wasn't fazed in the slightest, he just spun on the ball of his foot and altered the course of the Tessaiga to spin back at them from the opposite side. At the same time he punctured his other palm with his claws and sent a barrage of blades of blood at them.

Taking the Tessaiga with two hands again he slashed it at the infant, hitting up against Kagura's wall of wind. He bore down on her this time, not letting her blow him back. The Tessaiga began to glow and hum in his hands as he forced ever more power into the blade, using every last ounce of his fury and energy to cut through the wind. This close, when he used the wind scar it was only to get through the barrier and reach them with the blade, and the razor sharp tip of his father's fang slashed down through the bundle in Kagura's arms, forcing her to drop it or lose her arms and hands. The front of her kimono was slashed down the middle and a deep cut immediately began to bleed from her collar bone down to her pubic bone as he cut down her middle. It wasn't fatal, but she screamed, shocked by the fact that he had gotten past her wind. Clutching the two sides of her ruined garment together and bending to scoop up the two halves of the slain infant, she fled swiftly, leaving a thick trail of blood in her wake.

Inuyasha was left standing by himself in the very damaged temple, breathing heavily and trying to wrangle himself back under some semblance of control, not trusting himself to pick up Kagome again right away. As soon as he was able he turned and was by her side in an instance, gathering her up into his arms gently and taking off back to the village.

He was there in a matter of minutes, having practically flown there, and the others were waiting for them wide awake and understandably concerned. Inuyasha didn't answer any questions at first, too focused on checking on Kagome. They stood around and watched, horrified as they saw the blood streaking down her face. He laid her on her sleeping bag, and with a good amount of fear clenching his chest he watched as Kaede very, very gently lifted her eyelids to check and make sure her eyes had been injured. To everyone's relief, her eyes seemed to be fine.

"If her eyes aren't hurt, then why is there blood coming from them?" Sango whispered, her voice trembling a little with her shock.

"I've heard that some spells cause such intense pain, either emotional or physical, or both, that it causes the victim to cry blood." Miroku whispered back, just as shaken as Sango.

"Aye, me too. But I have never seen an example till now." Kaede murmured, her brow deeply furrowed.

Inuyasha tensed, feeling his demon blood surge again at the information as his whole body ached in horror and pain for his mate, hoping with every shred of his being that they were wrong.

"Well, at least her eyes aren't physically damaged, that's something to be thankful for at least." Sango said after a moment.

They all checked her out for any hidden injuries, and found none aside from a few bumps and bruises, and yet she still didn't wake. And then suddenly things got a lot worse, as she groaned and began to toss her head from side to side, alarming them all.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha gasped, slipping a hand under her head to cradle it.

She seemed to be having trouble breathing, and her hand came up to press against her throat, as if it pained her. They all leaned in closer, and Kaede gasped after a moment. "I can sense defiled jewel shards! They are within her. It must be the curse. She is still under a curse!"

Everyone sprang into action, and Miroku and Sango leapt up, saying, "We'll go find this dark priestess. She must still be out there."

Inuyasha jumped to his feet as well, seeming like he wanted to go with them, but he was stalled as Kagome's hand snagged his sleeve.

"Inu…yasha…" She whimpered and he sat back down instantly, faster than if she had said the word, 'sit.'

"I'll stay here." He murmured all his attention instantly back on Kagome.

The others nodded and set off, while Inuyasha settled in for a long wait. He used moist cloths to wipe her skin as she began to sweat, her entire body shuddering in what seemed to be a great deal of pain. She was burning up, almost as if she had a fever and she was panting, but her breathing sounded labored, like it was difficult for her to draw breath through the jewel shards in her throat. Every so often a slight sound would come from her, one that would send a shard of pain through Inuyasha's own chest as he heard the agony in her voice. She seemed to be fighting the curse, whatever it was doing to her, and it was obviously a very painful struggle.

After a bit he couldn't stand just sitting there watching her writhe in agony and he stood, walking over to the door flap to peer outside, grumbling under his breath, "Having they found the fucking priestess yet? How long's this gonna take them?" He looked long and hard into the sky, trying to see any sign of Kilala, or anything else that might signify that the curse had been broken. But no matter how hard he scanned the clouds, stars, or lower into the trees and hills, there was nothing to indicate what he was desperate for.

As he ducked back into the hut he lost his temper and punched the doorjamb with a growl ending in a pained higher pitched whine as he did his best to not cry from the cocktail of frustration, fear, and pain. "Damnit!" He snarled, smacking his forehead against the doorjamb for good measure. "Kagome is suffering and I'm just supposed to sit here and do nothing?"

Kaede, sighed, and after a moment opted to go change the water they had been using with cloths to cool her forehead and wipe the sweat from her skin.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

She couldn't breathe, she couldn't see, she couldn't even really think, all she could do was feel and hear. The pain that pulsed through her made it impossible to concentrate on much else aside from that. She had been in a lot of pain before. She had experienced poison, and wounds of the flesh, and most recently pain within her soul as that terrifying infant had dug around in her, and now she was experiencing yet a different kind of pain…a pain that came from being cursed. It was a weird amalgamation of physical and psychic pain, similar to the soul rape she went through only a few hours ago. Still weak from that incident, it made it so much more difficult for her to fight off this new assault. The curse must have been broken when the kid messed with her, and now it seemed it was trying to reestablish a hold on her. She could vaguely remember the sensation from before, when the jewel shards had first entered her throat, a searing shaft of agony and then blackness, but this…this was messy compared to that.

Before, it had been fast, over almost before she knew what hit her, but now she was able to fight it, with her meager strength, and that made it hurt more and last longer as she felt claws slowly curling around her consciousness and grabbing hold. She could hear a woman's voice whispering to her, telling her what to do, though the words at first didn't make sense to her feverish brain.

"Kill him…kill him…kill Inuyasha…"

"No…please stop…" She whimpered back, as the orders finally began to crystalize within her, almost like a poison taking over her tissues.

It didn't stop, the compulsions only grew harder to resist.

Eventually she succumbed, drawn into the dark depths of hell as her body was once again stolen from her. Her eyes opened as she raggedly breathed in a gulp of air, her vision blurry. But though she was out of it her body moved without her permission and it was up and holding her bow before she knew what was going on. Her mind snapped to attention though as an arrow was aimed at Inuyasha's back, and she was only just barely able to make her grip shift to have it land in the wood beside him instead of his heart.

Now that she was up and about in her head again, she began fighting the possession even harder, digging in her mental heels and forcing her muscles through sheer force of will to not do what they were doing against her permission. Her body locked and loaded another arrow, slowly and jerkily as Inuyasha turned around, his wide golden eyes fixed on her in shock.

"Kagome…why…?"

She barely felt like she could breathe through the constriction and pain in her throat where those damnable jewels were still lodged, but she managed, very slowly, to choke out, "Inu … Inuyasha …. get … get … away …."

His wide eyes got wider and then flashed in recognition. "The curse…" he growled.

That answered the question as to why her body was moving on its own again, but it didn't really answer the question of how they were going to get out of this mess. She grit her teeth and locked every muscle she had control of, which was none, but through her determination she managed to slow her body's reactions. As he eased sidewise, her bow followed suite, but way behind where he actually was, her moves slow and jerky. Her skin was already covered with sweat, but it was now pouring off her along with tears as she fought with every little bit of passion she had left in her.

She refused to hurt him.

"Get…away…" She repeated, her fingers cramping and trembling.

He shook his head viciously. "No. Not gonna do that, Kagome. There's no tellin' what'll happen to you if I leave."

"Then…take me out…get the bow…"

She knew he could do it easily, she had seen his speed often enough that this would be like taking candy from a baby.

He seemed to contemplate it for a moment, and then as her next arrow flew he easily dodged, not that it was really pointed at him anyways, and he was suddenly there in front of her, grapping both her wrists and taking them both down to the ground with him on top. She gasped, and then winced as the curse apparently punished her for her insubordination with a flash of pain.

She bore with it, and then after a moment it was back to the incessant, 'kill him, kill him, kill him,' routine again. She fought it, finding it easier to do now that she didn't have to fight her own body. Inuyasha was controlling that for her, so now all she had to do was try to suppress the curse from the inside. Rallying all her spiritual energy, and borrowing just a little from her demonic blood suppressed once again within her, she did her very best to purify the jewels in her neck. She didn't succeed, but she did manage to break the curse's hold on her temporarily.

Her body shuddered and then lay still, and she was finally able to catch her breath, though the pain still present in her throat made it somewhat uncomfortable still. As Inuyasha felt her relax, he sat back a little, eyeing her just in case she sprung back into action.

"How ya feeling?"

"B-better…for now." She groaned, using her shaking arm to wipe the profuse sweat out of her eyes. "But I can still feel the curse, it's not gone."

"Can you feel where it's coming from?" Inuyasha asked, his ears pricking forward and his eyes narrowing.

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, clearly. I know exactly where it's coming from. It's like I feel myself being dragged there somehow…" She shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Can you lead me to her? I'm gonna kill that bitch for hurting you, Kagome…" Inuyasha growled, his fists clenched so hard they were trembling.

Kagome weakly nodded and he scooped her up in his arms. Following her directions, he swiftly flew through the woods, pausing when she winced as a fresh wave of pain rolled through her. The curse was building strength again, and she had to struggle to hold it at bay.

"You okay Kagome?"

"Yeah…I'll be…fine. It's that way…hurry Inuyasha…I don't know how long I can…"

"On it." And he leapt off into the forest.

They swiftly found the barrier the others had run into, and were briefly stymied.

"Hang on Kagome…I'm gonna get rid of this fucking thing." He shifted her to his back temporarily, where she clung as he drew his sword. It was fortunate that they had run into those demonic bats a week or so ago, allowing Inuyasha to destroy some sort of ancient coral artifact that granted his Tessaiga the power to break barriers.

Without further ado, he summoned forth the red Tessaiga, and even with being poisoned as she was, Kagome still couldn't help but be impressed by the crimson sheen covering his blade. He swung it at the barrier, and after a brief shower of sparks, the blue glowing wall cracked, and then splintered, shattering in every direction and allowing them access.

"Hah…" He snorted, and then hissed and yelped, "Woah, hang on there, Kagome…sorry…" as she slid off his back, losing her grip. He snatched her as she fell, whipping around and catching her before she hit the ground. He slid his sword back in its sheath with one hand as he cradled her to him with the other, and then once both were free, he picked her up in his arms again, setting off to confront the evil witch that had put her under such a despicable spell.

Unbeknownst to either of them, that was precisely what the dark priestess wanted. After the infant had muddled around with her, Kagome had been difficult to control at such great distances, which meant she had to lure them closer to finish them off.

They passed through where the barrier had been and soon entered into a clearing, a hut smack dab in the middle. That was where Kagome could feel the deadly lure coming from.

"In there…she's in there…"Kagome whispered, and then cried out as suddenly the curse latched back onto her unsuspecting person with a vengeance.

Her body curled up so violently with the pain that Inuyasha very nearly dropped her accidentally, and a cuss slipped out of his mouth as he quickly readjusted his hold on her. "Kagome! Are you okay?"

She couldn't answer, her body no longer under her control and it was all she could do to fight the urges once again possessing her. Inuyasha was forced to lower her body to the ground as she began to toss and turn, fighting with the last vestiges of strength within herself to ward off the curse.

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

"I know you're in there!" Inuyasha bellowed at the hut, setting Kagome carefully down and stepping around her now slack form to address the building. "Get the fuck out here so I can kill ya for hurting Kagome!"

Cackling could be heard coming from within the building, and out stepped a shockingly pretty woman with long white hair.

"Oh, Inuyasha, thank you so much for bringing my prize right to me. I sent out a summons…but I never thought you two would step into my trap quite so easily…" After her taunts she proceeded to cackle some more.

"Why you…." Inuyasha growled, unsheathing Tessaiga and taking a few lunging steps towards her.

"Ah, ah, ah, watch it you uncouth mutt, I hold your dear mate's life in my hands…" She punctuated this statement by opening her hand to show him a very familiar hunk of the jewel.

Shocked, Inuyasha stared at it. "Wait…Kikyo had that piece, she took it from Kagome. How do you have it?"

"My, how easily distracted you are." The priestess snorted. "I see no harm in answering your question, after all you will both be dead soon. I received this from Naraku."

"So…Naraku got the jewel from Kikyo…"

"I think you're missing the point here, stupid Half-Breed." That snapped Inuyasha to attention and he snarled at her. "You see, this is the nexus of the curse upon your sweet little mate there, and if you make one wrong move, I can end her life."

He growled, not really sure if he should believe her. It could just be a bluff, but on the other hand, it could be the truth, and he couldn't exactly risk Kagome's life on the chance that it wasn't true. Still…he couldn't exactly just do nothing either. He had to kill this bitch to set her free.

"Don't believe me?" She asked, taking in his expression. "How about I prove it to you…"

So saying, she squeezed the jewel in her hand, and from behind him he heard a horrific shriek. He spun on his heel, and his heart first popped into his throat, trying to choke him, and then dropped into his stomach like he had leaped over a cliff and was now plummeting to his death as he saw Kagome bow off the ground, her hands wrapped around her own neck as a black glow shone evilly from between her fingers.

"Kagome!" He yelled, and dashed back to her side, landing on his knees hard in the dirt by her side as he pried her hands off her throat to see what was going on. He could now clearly see the jewel shards in her neck, as they glowed viciously beneath her skin, apparently causing her a great deal of pain as she writhed on the ground and cried out.

"Stop it! STOP!" He shouted back at the priestess, and with an evil chuckle she released her grip, and Kagome flopped back to the ground, seeming to pass out.

He was well and truly fucked, he couldn't attack her without risking Kagome's life, and he couldn't just stand by and let her hurt Kagome either. There was no path here that he could see to get them out of this mess.

"So…now that you understand your position, put away your sword."

Clenching his teeth and his fists, he gripped the hilt of his sword, the blade shaking just a little due to how hard he was gripping it, and slowly slid it back into the sheath at his waist.

He stood stiffly and turned to face her. He was beyond pissed now, every fiber of him burned with rage, but he had to wait for an opening. He couldn't make any rash moves this time; he had to be smarter than that. There was no way in hell he was gonna get Kagome killed.

He watched as she gestured, and said something so softly he couldn't hear it, even with his ears pricked all the way forwards. It quickly became clear that she wasn't talking to him anyways, she was addressing Kagome. He turned as he heard her get up behind him. She was shaking, her eyes weirdly blank and tainted red like before, and it was obvious the curse was controlling her again. The jewel shard glowed brightly at her throat. It seemed to have an even stronger hold on her this time, but she was still fighting it. It was obvious in the tightness in her expression and the sweat pouring off her that she was fighting it with everything she had.

Still, it didn't seem to be enough to keep her from attacking, and as the bitch behind him began to laugh, Kagome was forced to come at him. Her fang necklace began to glow ominously, holding her demon energy at bay, and he wondered if maybe she was trying to call upon it to fight the curse. Whatever the case, it affected how she attacked, and long shafts of light erupted from her fingertips like long deadly claws, which were now wildly swinging at him. He ducked and dodged, keeping in mind that if he were to grab her and make her immobile, the witch might just kill her. So all he could do was dodge her attacks, which normally wouldn't have been a problem, except that damnable curse was making her rather speedy now. It had obviously gotten its claws into her much deeper because even though she was fighting it, her movements weren't nearly as shaky as before.

So he was pretty screwed, especially since half his attention was always on the priestess, looking for an opportunity to strike her down when she wasn't looking. His attention was so divided in fact, that he failed to dodge a particularly wild and unpredictable swing, and he got clawed across the chest for it.

The impact was such that he was slammed against a nearby tree trunk, with a good deal of force, and he was temporarily winded.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

It was pure torture…nothing had been as bad as this. She had thought she had been through hell, and she had, but nothing had hurt as badly as being forced to hurt Inuyasha, and it felt like her heart was being torn into bits and pieces as her claws made contact with his flesh. She had been on the edge of her mental seat, begging and praying that he could avoid all her sloppy attacks. She couldn't do much; all she could do to try and stop herself was make herself sloppier, that was all her fighting amounted too. It took everything in her to just do that much and she was relegated to sabotaging her own body.

But to her horror, it wasn't enough, and one of her attacks landed, slicing Inuyasha's chest and tossing him into a nearby tree with the force, where he hit with a bang and then slid to the ground, temporarily stunned.

She would have gone and killed him right then and there, but with her horror at what she had done, she was able to gain a little more fight against the curse temporarily and twisted her own foot as she ran towards him, making it so that she tripped over herself and landed face first on the ground. Her own claws sliced into her shoulders as her arms were crumpled in from the impact, and the pain of the blades piercing her flesh helped to clear her head just a tiny bit…but still not enough to regain control over herself.

She was so focused on her own mission, that she didn't hear Inuyasha yell her name, or even sense him as he scrambled over to her.

Still, she was able to force herself to lie on the ground for a moment, digging her own nails deeper into her flesh to keep her hands there. Her muscles were spasming now, her arms trying to jerk her hands free and her hands cramping as she forced herself to cling to her own body. A shaft of pain in her throat blinded her and blanked out her mind for a split second, enough to release her hands from her shoulders. So, Kagome did the next best thing, she speared her fingers into the hard packed earth, paying no heed to the way the dirt and stones scraped the skin from her fingers and broke her physical nails, she just needed something to hang onto. Desperate, she bared her teeth and bit into a sturdy root conveniently near her face, to try and hold herself in place. She only had control over her hands and her mouth though, the rest of her body was under the control of the witch behind her and all her muscles were fighting against her tenuous hold on the earth.

Another blast from the curse yanked her from the ground, and she ended up staggering to her feet. Inuyasha must have lost his senses, because he had approached her, probably when she stabbed herself. He must have been able to smell her blood after all, and so now he was right in front of her as she lunged from the ground. Him being so close meant that she couldn't prevent herself from driving those damnable blades of light right into his gut, her fingers spearing into his flesh. The sensation of her hand actually encased inside of his body was such that even the curse couldn't prevent her from jerking back, as Inuyasha was once again propelled into the tree, which was somehow still standing despite being blasted by a cannon ball named Inuyasha twice now.

She looked down at her hands, one coated in her own blood and one coated in Inuyasha's blood, and it sent her to her knees. She heaved and vomited whatever was in her stomach onto the grass, even the curse unable to prevent her body from rebelling out of pure instinct. And then the fresh memory of how it had felt to feel his muscles and flesh part and rip under her fingers, until her whole hand up to her wrist had been inside him, hit her and she heaved again, spitting out bile.

The feeling of his blood, the squish and slosh of his guts, the slimy sensation of blood slicked flesh, it had her heaving again and again, until it was just dry heaves.

It felt like an eternity, but really was only a matter of less than a minute before the curse grabbed her once again and pulled her to her feet, and she hung there limply. Her blurry gaze locked onto Inuyasha once again, who was dragging himself to his own feet as well. He had a bloody open wound in his stomach, a fist sized hole that she had just punched. Even with his constitution, it was a bad wound, and had put him out of commission while she had been busy vomiting up her lunch. But now he was propped up, leaning against the tree.

This time, her body didn't go after him with claws, instead it pulled a great deal of spiritual power from within her and drew a bow from thin air, made entirely of glowing energy, and a like arrow appeared locked and loaded and pointed at Inuyasha. She didn't even know such a thing was possible, and certainly wasn't excited by the discovery.

With all her might she fought it, stalling the inevitable for a long, painful moment, and their eyes locked. His were shockingly calm, although there was a darkness within them that spoke of old memories awakened, and she could see fear hidden in those golden depths. She was sure hers spoke of the anguish within her, if he could even read anything from them. She had this uncanny feeling that they were blank, given the glazed, slightly unfocused vision she was suffering from currently. She could feel tears coming from her eyes, and her hands shook.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't fight the curse, and after stalling it for as long as she could, another blade of pain sliced her throat, and when her vision cleared once again, she saw that the glowing arrows had been loosed, a whole mess of them. They speared him in the shoulder, the arm, the leg, and several through his chest and stomach. He was pinned back against the tree, with a pained shout that ended in a grunt as he hit the wood, his skull cracking back against the bark from the force of the hit.

Kagome didn't even realize she was screaming, until her raw throat broke and her voice stopped on a harsh choking cough. She collapsed, staring through blurry tear-filled eyes at her mate, who for all she knew was dead. His head had fallen forward and hung limp against his chest, and as the arrows of light flashed out of existence he fell to the ground, his body slumping against the trunk and his head lolling back, blood trickling from his lips and his eyes rolled back in his head.

"NO!" She cried, her body shaking with the sobs that racked her frame. "No…no…please god no…this can't be happening…"

* * *

OTHER'S POV

* * *

By now, the others had broken through the shattered barrier, and came upon the scene right about this time, and drew to a halt as they watched, shocked, as Kagome loosed the arrows that felled Inuyasha. All of them were so stunned they just stopped, unable to do or say anything. And then they all flinched at the heart rending cry that came from their black haired female comrade as she fell to her knees, breaking apart at the seams. It was obvious that she had somehow been forced to do the deed, and her body shook with sobs, her shoulders shaking so hard it looked like she was having a seizure. In fact it seemed her whole body was shaking, trembling violently.

And then it seemed something broke, because yet another shriek came from her as her whole body heaved forwards, her hands slamming to the ground, almost as if she had been hit by some unseen force from behind. They would have gone to her, only at this point something began to happen that kept them back.

When her palms hit the dirt, the ground shook underfoot, almost as if she had 'sat' the entire earth, and they all took a few steps back as the air around her began to crackle ominously with energy, her hair blowing in an unseen wind. It was a terrifying sight, and it was accompanied by the swelling feeling of an approaching demon, one of massive stature. It was something they had all felt before, when Inuyasha turned fully demonic.

But Kagome didn't have enough blood inside her to do that…right?

It didn't feel exactly the same, it was mixed with the pressure of a great and powerful priestess, similar to when her soul had been released, at the time when Kikyo had first been revived. They had all seen just how enormous that spirit was that was housed inside her unassuming form. Unlike most souls, she didn't have a simple glowing orb, she had about fifty of them, if not more, and now her enormous spiritual presence made the air crackle with electricity.

* * *

KAGOME POV

* * *

 _Inuyasha…he can't be dead…there's no way…please…don't let him be dead…_

Her heart was in so much pain; she barely felt the agony at her throat any more as it pulsed, trying to get her attention. Inuyasha, her boyfriend, her love, her … mate … she had hurt him, maybe even killed him. She couldn't absorb the information, it just didn't make sense.

Slowly the sound of laughter sounded through her brain from the evil priestess, and the sound broke something in her, like a switch had been flipped. Rage, unlike anything she had ever experienced surged through her, stemming from her demon blood crying out for revenge for the pain of her mate, and her necklace barely contained the flood of demon power that engulfed her veins. She was tossed forwards onto hands and knees under the force of it, and she shrieked, the sound ripping her throat raw to the point she tasted blood, but she didn't care. She barely noticed the power flooding from her in waves, too wrapped up in the sensations and emotions bombarding her from the inside.

She lunged to her feet, and yanked the fang from around her neck, holding it as her weapon as she spun around to face the priestess, who looked just a tad worried now. She could feel a heavy pressure in the air, power popping off her almost like static electricity, and she could feel her demon and priestess powers melding and warping in a weird dance, making her blood sing inside her.

The woman stared at her, cockiness covering up her worry as she laughed nervously and exclaimed, "Just what do you think you are, you freak? Take this!"

Her hand clenched and the fire at Kagome's throat erupted, choking her and preventing her from breathing. Snarling, Kagome used her priestess powers to locate the jewel shards in her neck, sensing their exact locations, and then bared her demon claws and ripped them out of her own flesh, avoiding her vital points. It still caused a wound that bled relatively heavily, but with her demon blood flowing through her veins, the bleeding wasn't too bad, and it would heal soon enough. In her human body, it would be fatal, but in her demon body it wasn't.

The priestess stared at her, jaw agape as she threw the jewel shards to the ground at her feet.

"Wh-what?! That's impossible! Even Kikyo couldn't have…"

"Well, I'm not Kikyo, my name is KAGOME, and you just messed with the wrong woman." Kagome snarled.

The priestess seemed to panic a little and she sent her Shikigami flying at Kagome. It took the form of a long, very large, white serpent, fangs bared as it zoomed towards her.

Kagome stared at it, and then when it got to her, she used her dagger, repelling it with a blast that sent it right back to its mistress, whacking her smack dab in the face and weirdly being absorbed into her eye. She shrieked and staggered. Using the moment of weakness, Kagome raised the fang in her fist, point down towards the ground, and drew forth a bow of light, using the fang as a balancer to call forth her spiritual powers. The fang curved, and so she twisted her wrist and had it curve back until it scratched her skin, the blood running down the blade, and her normally blueish purple spiritual energy turned crimson red as it absorbed her blood. She drew her other arm back, her claws bared, and blood red arrows sprung forth, a whole row of them along her bow line, all pointed directly at the priestess.

"Arrows of blood…" Kagome whispered eying them in a semi-state of shock, buried under all the rage and fury, and she chose to name them after Inuyasha's blades of blood technique. So named, she let them fly. With a crack and boom they shot from her bow, a whole barrage of glowing deadly projectiles, and they hit with a sound comparable to a clap of thunder, the ground shaking and the hut disappearing in the blast of light. A cloud of smoke rose, and when it cleared it showed the whole building had been torn to bits, and the priestess along with it, her body broken and bloody and very much dead. It was a gory sight, but Kagome barely even registered it. Her demon blood was pounding too strongly in her veins, and she barely even flinched as another barrage flew from her bow, landing and demolishing the remains of the building, and tearing the priestess's body to bits.

And still, another round was building, and would have shot upon the poor pile of splintered, bloody wood, but it never flew.

"…sit…"

The barely audible command had her gasping and going to her knees, her bow shattering as her palms slapped the ground. Her head whipped over to the only possible source, to see a pair of golden eyes staring at her from under bloody white hair, his head only barely raised. Her revenge completely forgotten, she spun on her knees and darted to his side, her feet scrambling on the ground in her haste.

"Inuyasha!" She gasped, landing next to him and gathering him in her arms.

He blinked up at her, his head supported by her hand, and then he scowled weakly. "Geez, Kagome, you're such a handful…"

She choked on a sob and a laugh, her tears spattering his face. He winced and blinked as the drops of water landed on him, and his ears flicked, almost as if to flick the moisture off.

"I'm so glad you're…I thought you were…" She laugh-cried, pressing her forehead to his.

They stayed like that for a long moment, and then he heaved a sigh. "Kagome…you're getting tears in my eyes…" He protested.

She snorted and pulled back a little, to see that yes, indeed, her tears had besieged his own eyes and now they were squinted closed, the liquid shining on his eyelashes. He blinked rapidly, trying to get the salty liquid out.

"Hey, I'm gonna be fine…I've dealt with worse than this shit." He soothed, raising a slightly shaky hand and stroking her cheek.

As his hand fell, from exhaustion, she caught it and held it to her cheek, nuzzling as much of her face into his palm as she could, while still staring at him with one eye. He smiled weakly and then his eyes slid shut as he passed out again from his wounds. This time she didn't freak out, she just set about tending to them as best she could.

She could sense the other's approach, and could feel that they were hesitant, given how slow they did so.

"Don't worry you guys, everything's fine now." She called to them.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Sango asked tentatively as Kagome worked on getting Inuyasha's shirt open.

"Yes actually, could you please gather up the jewel shards? They're scattered over there somewhere." Kagome answered, not taking her eyes off the wounds.

They set off, and she could hear them cussing as they looked for the shards, and then cussing even more as Kagura dove down on them.

Kagome looked up just in time to see the woman swoop in and scoop up the chunk from the corpse, and the shards from the ground that Kagome had dropped, and made off with all of them. Normally Kagome would have been more perturbed by it, but at the moment, she was too focused on Inuyasha to go after her. Sango, Miroku, and Kilala took chase though, and Kagome was thankful to be left alone with Inuyasha so she could properly tend to his wounds without an audience.

She dealt with the fit sized wound first. That one was so deep, there wasn't much she really could do, but she looked around for some healing herbs. She found some nearby, and quickly gathered them up. The only way to prepare them into a poultice was to chew them, which would hopefully also lend some of the healing properties from her saliva as well, and so she set to masticating the extremely bitter herbs until they were a gooey foul tasting paste. She spat them directly into the wound, and kept at it until she had packed it full. As it healed it would push the poultice out of the hole, but the poultice would speed the recovery and help keep it from getting infected, if that was even possible for a half-demon.

Once that was dealt with, she set to tending to the arrow wounds, again packing them with poultice since they were so deep. The claw marks that sliced across his chest she set about licking until they closed, grimacing slightly at the taste of his blood. It was still better than they herbs though and she didn't care how it tasted as long as it helped him to heal. She had inflicted these wounds after all, and by golly she was going to patch them up.

After a while she finally felt she had done all she could, and so she sat back and cradled his head in her lap, after gently closing his kosode back over his chest to give him some modesty. Once he was settled she did her best to clean her hands, wiping them on her shirt until all the dried blood had been scraped off. Once her hands were cleaner, she petted his hair, swept his bangs out of his eyes, and gently stroked his ears as he lay there, still out cold, but seeming more at ease now.

Soon the others returned, empty handed unfortunately, and they all set off back to the village, carrying Inuyasha on Kilala.

* * *

Author's Note:

So, lots of different episodes crammed into this one…if anyone can name them all you get an extra cookie.

This was a super intense chapter I know, and I jammed tons of info in here. Just for funzies, let's review what we've learned thus far so nobody gets confused (including me, lol):

Naraku now has the entire jewel, except for two shards. One is with Kikyo, and the other is unknown. Of course we all know where it is.

Kohaku has been set free most probably, but he could be dead for all we know. Note: in this story I'm making it so that the shard in Kohaku's back was only to control him, not to keep him alive, so removing it only sets him loose from Naraku's control.

The infant has been cut into two, and we know what that means, we get the brat and the heart. If I decide to keep them.

So now, we are right about at the end of everything and ready to enter the final act, but never fear, I plan to write about what happens after the big final battle, so we have a good chunk left.

On to the next chapter! And as always, a big shout out of gratitude and thanks to all my fantastic and wonderful reviewers out there.


	19. Chapter 19

After the whole incident with the infant and the dark priestess, Naraku had mysteriously disappeared, and now demons were popping out of the woodwork. None of them could quite figure out if it was because they had been suppressed by Naraku, or if it was a diversionary tactic, but between that and the hunt for Kikyo and the remaining jewel shard she possessed, not to mention the mysterious jewel shard that apparently didn't exist anymore, they were kept pretty darn busy.

Kagome had less and less time to visit home, and she started wishing she had some way of contacting them, missing the use of telephones more and more. Someday, she swore to herself, she would figure out a method of communication…but at the moment she had no time to spare.

"Hey, do you feel that?"

Distracted from her thoughts, she turned to Inuyasha, blinking in confusion. "Uh…what exactly?"

"That weird feeling? Like…a weird purity."

Kagome cocked her head and focused in on her surroundings, the others doing the same.

"Yeah…I think I know what you mean." Shippō spoke up, his bushy tail twitching in discomfort.

The other two nodded as well.

Kagome knew what they meant as well. Now that she was tuned in, she felt a strange prickly feeling, like when she was about to shoot a purifying arrow, or was having one aimed at her. "I think it's coming from that mountain." She pointed ahead of them.

"That's mount Hakurei. It's supposed to be a sacred mountain, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was the source of this pure feeling." Miroku said.

"It's weird though. It doesn't feel…normal." Sango said, shivering.

"It's also right in the path that everyone says they saw Naraku go. It's in the direction of the Ox-Tiger."

"You think Naraku could be hiding there?" Kagome asked Inuyasha.

He shrugged. "Dunno. But it's worth checking out. Plus there have been tons of rumors about some sort of dead warriors or somethin' coming back to life."

"Could be Naraku's doing." Miroku agreed.

"Or it could be connected to Urasue." Sango pointed out.

Kagome grimaced at the name of the person responsible for bringing Kikyo back to life. "Well, either way. It's worth checking out, like Inuyasha said."

"Speaking of…where did Inuyasha go?" Shippō asked, and they all started and looked around, noticing that the dog demon had seemingly disappeared.

"Where is he Kagome?" Sango asked turning to her.

She sighed, took off her necklace, and felt her claim mark throb. After a second she could sense him behind her and quite a bit above. She turned and followed the feeling with her eyesight. "He's that way. Maybe a hundred yards, up in a tree. Probably getting a higher perspective of the mountain."

"It's so good to finally have an Inuyasha detector…sometimes it's hard to keep track of him." Sango lightly teased, as per usual, and Kagome just rolled her eyes, used to the joke by now.

The four of them waited for him to reappear, which he did in a minute. He jumped out of the trees and landed near Kagome.

"The mountain's covered in a weird fog. Doesn't look right. Let's go, Kagome."

She nodded and they took off at a jog. She had left her bike back in her world the last time she visited. Inuyasha hadn't let her use it in weeks. When she needed a ride, for super speedy travel, he insisted on carrying her piggy back. So she had decided the bike was a weight they could drop. Besides, she also could run much faster now whenever she took off her fang dagger.

Inuyasha had been training her in how to control and use her new powers for the past several months, which was how she had managed to pull off that snazzy new move when fighting the evil dark priestess. With his help she had attuned her body into her demon nature, so that she wouldn't stress it out again like when she had fought the priestess eater. There was still a slight threat of that if she really went overboard, but now she could even use her demon powers to run, and it was a great way to drain them and not have them build up and get all bottled up inside of her. She didn't want to risk taking off her necklace and going blood-lusty on her friends. Going out of control when fighting Tsubaki had frightened her, so she was even more careful now to properly drain her demon powers, even if it was unlikely she would ever go berserk outside of a life or death situation. She just didn't want to risk it.

They traveled closer to the mountain and then stopped for the night, setting up camp.

"Hey Kagome, you wanna spar with me tonight?" Sango asked.

"No fair I wanted to have a go!" Shippō whined.

Kagome just laughed and said, "Well, actually I had promised Inuyasha. But we could have a go before that. I just won't be able to go all out since I need to spare some energy for him."

The other two nodded and they set off for a small clearing nearby. The two men parked themselves nearby to watch the sparing matches commence. Miroku always liked to watch Sango and Kagome spar, and he made no qualms about wolf whistling and making some inappropriate comments that never failed to get him beaned on the head with Sango's weapon.

Inuyasha typically watched as well, though he didn't seem to get the same sort of pleasure from it as the pervy monk. Kagome sensed that he enjoyed watching her, and knew he was proud of her progress.

She started with Shippō, who was hopping up and down whining and begging to let him play too. Sango stepped off and let him go first. He would tire more quickly anyways.

"So Shippō, you want priestess powers or demon?"

"Demon!"

She nodded and pulled the necklace off, uncapping her demon powers. She sunk into the stance Inuyasha had taught her and waited. Shippō didn't disappoint. He went at her guns blazing, first sending all his tricks and toys at her, forcing her to dodge and cut the laughing acorns, hammers, spinning tops, and propellers out of the sky with her claw attack. She hadn't named the attack anything fancy like Inuyasha, but she just went with blades of light, since it was so similar to his blades of blood attack. He disapproved, but she had been firm about not yelling out something like, "Iron Reeving Soul Stealer!" the way he always did.

Shippō predictably tired out rather quickly, but he also seemed to be getting stronger, and she felt a swell of pride at the little kit's progress.

Once Shippō had pooped out and joined the other guys she turned to Sango, getting a whistle from Miroku. They both sent him glares and he ducked behind Inuyasha, who rolled his eyes and bopped him on the head for them.

Kagome snickered and turned back to Sango, who had drawn Hiraikotsu and was already lobbing it her way. She yelped and dodged. They played that game for a while, Sango starting to laugh as she made Kagome duck and dodge and run around. She was a truly formidable opponent, Kagome had to give her that. She managed to duck and dodge her way over closer to her, and then once inside her little bubble Sango was forced to use the Hiraikotsu as a shield instead of as a weapon.

Kagome drew her small fang dagger, partially capping off her demon powers but still able to access them while wielding it. She and Sango started a small bout of hand to hand combat.

"OI! Don't forget you still have me to deal with Kagome!" Inuyasha bellowed from his spot on the edge of the field and she skidded to a halt, breathing heavy. She had almost forgotten, and now felt that she had probably already expended a little too much energy.

So she and Sango called it quits.

"Good match ladies! Well done, well done!" Miroku applauded as they made their way over to the guys.

Sango rolled her eyes at the monk, and then moments later promptly slapped him as he reached for her bottom.

They all went back to the camp site and proceeded to have dinner, Inuyasha being nice enough to let Kagome rest for a bit before demanding his promised match. By that time it was dark as they made their way back to the small clearing, and when she saw it she gasped, shocked and delighted by the hundreds of fireflies that lit it.

"So pretty!" She squealed, clasping her hand together tightly in front of her and looking on at the fairy tale scene with starlit eyes.

Inuyasha snorted and waded into the clearing, ignoring the little specks of light that danced around him. But Kagome admired them, and the way they made his white hair seem to glow. In this setting, he really looked like something out of a novel, something she could barely believe was actually a part of her life. His furry ears twitched and he sent her an expectant look from the middle of the field, and Kagome felt shivers dance over her skin, his golden eyes glowing and making the picture perfect. If she was an artist, she would have instantly called a halt to the proceedings so she could paint this particular scene, but since she had no talent whatsoever with that sort of thing, she was reduced to simply burning it into her mind's eye so she would never forget it.

He quickly lost patience with her. "OI! Are you coming or not?"

"Inuyasha! Come on, I don't want to hurt the fireflies…" She protested, walking forward but concerned about the little fireflies' safety as he bared his fangs and claws in preparation of a sparring match with her.

"Heh, you're so soft Kagome." At her glare, he amended with an exasperated sigh, "Fine, fine. We won't use any big attacks, just hand to hand. Ya happy now?"

She nodded, agreeing to his compromise and she took off her necklace, putting it in a pouch around her waist. As her demon powers flooded back, she was amazed by how much brighter everything looked, and how much prettier the fireflies were with her slightly enhanced vision. Which was why she was distracted when he came at her.

She yelped as he smacked her on the head and slid into a protective stance, blocking and throwing him off as he came at her again. She flipped him over her hip, a move Sango had taught her, and he landed snarling behind her. He was swift to regroup though and launched himself at her, again. She blocked, smacking his clawed hands away with her own, and then launched an attack of her own, slashing at him with her own claws bared. He dodged, skipping back a few steps playfully before leaping into the air and pouncing down on her. She squeaked, throwing herself out of the way and landing in a roll.

She could hear some applause from the edge of the clearing, indicating that they had an audience. She flushed, getting a little flustered. Her sparring matches with Inuyasha were a little more hands on typically, and so she was always a little embarrassed knowing they were being watched. It helped that it was night time though, so surely they couldn't see too much.

She managed to scramble to her feet in time to dodge his next attack, although she did so clumsily. He was still much, much faster and stronger than her, and she had to hustle to keep up.

They went back and forth for a little while, but Kagome started to tire out swiftly, and Inuyasha apparently decided he was done playing with her. So he amped up his attack, speeding around her and grabbing her from behind. She managed to throw an elbow back, knocking him off temporarily. She was in the process of turning around when his leg kicked out, knocking her off balance and sending her flopping back into the grass. She huffed as the breath was temporarily knocked from her lungs, and lay there flat on her back, wheezing for a moment.

As Inuyasha loomed over her she sent a halfhearted kick in his direction and he sidestepped it easily before sitting on her, smirking at her pitiful attempts to get him off of her. She grumbled, bucking and twisting under him to try and unseat him from where he had straddled her waist.

"Just give up Kagome, I beat you." He snorted, obviously amused by her weak struggles.

That ticked her off just a little and she huffed, snapping one of her hands forwards to slash at him in aggravation, hoping maybe she could shock him into falling off her. She knew she was beaten, but she was a little cranky at how smug he looked about it. The hit actually landed, giving him a shallow cut on his chin and he jerked back, scowling. He grabbed the offending limb with his own hand and slammed it down to the ground, along with her other for good measure, holding her wrists prisoner.

"Ya done yet?" He growled as she squirmed around, testing his hold on her.

She finally flopped back, breathing heavily and scowled up at him. "Fine. You win."

He snorted.

They both were interrupted by Miroku bellowing, "We're heading back to the campsite. Have fun you two."

There was a distinctly perverted inflection in his voice that suggested things other than just sparring, and Inuyasha snarled. "Oh fuck off, Miroku!"

He only got a laugh in reply, and then they both heard, "Ow!" and some protests as Sango apparently beaned him on the head with her Hiraikotsu.

Kagome flushed bright red, still pinned securely. "Um…can I get up now?"

Inuyasha glanced back down, cocking his head to the side. A slightly mischievous grin curled his lips. "No. I don't think so. Remember our bet?"

"Bet?" She repeated, trying to think of what he might be referring to. And then she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as a memory surfaced, one where she was fussing at him and promising to beat him next time, and yes a bet had been placed. Whoever won the next match got to do whatever they wanted to the other person. She had planned on playing with his fluffy ears again, and knew good and well that he would like it but would probably also protest mightily. However, she hadn't won, and that meant Inuyasha got to choose what to do with her.

She heaved a sigh. "Oh. Right."

His grin widened. He released her wrists but didn't get off her, and she crossed her arms uncomfortably over her chest, waiting to see what he would do. She wasn't really sure what to expect, and his expression wasn't exactly making her feel better about the situation. His grin was highly mischievous, and perhaps a bit smug, and she didn't like the way his eyes glittered as they skated over her form, apparently trying to figure out what to do.

After a moment though, his face softened and he slid back, laying himself over her. She tensed, but when all he did was lay his head down on her chest she relaxed slowly. It seemed like he just wanted to cuddle, which she was surprised about but happy to accommodate. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, one hand making its way to the back of his head where she stroked his long silky hair. She had no idea how his hair was so soft, it was softer than hers even and she knew he didn't use shampoo or conditioner.

He rumbled happily and nuzzled his face against her. She sighed and relaxed fully, looking up at the stars and the fireflies that were now flying all around them and even above them. It was a beautiful moment and she never wanted it to end, enjoying the peace and quiet and simple joy of holding each other. But eventually it did have to end, and right before she slipped off into sleep he pulled away, rousing her.

"Wha-?" She mumbled.

"Time to head back to camp Kagome."

"Oh. Right." She grumbled, getting up and stumbling after him. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit her travel pillow and she snuggled down tight into her sleeping bag, huddling close to the fire for warmth since the nights had grown shockingly chilly lately.

They traveled for a few more days, and then things started getting weird.

First they were confronted by a man, who was pretty enough to be a woman, complete with lipstick. They came upon him as they were walking down the road, although they didn't notice him at first since they were a little more preoccupied by the pile of bodies smack dab in the center of the lane. It was only after he stood up from where he had apparently been squatting within the circle of death, that they realized he was there at all.

"Oi, did you do this?" Inuyasha bellowed.

The man cocked his head, and looked at Inuyasha with a weird twinkle in his eyes. "Oh my, are you the one I've been looking for? Are you Inuyasha?!"

Inuyasha bristled, and Kagome saw his ears twitch, probably at the odd excitement in this man's voice.

"Hey, I don't remember meeting you, how do you know my name? Just who are you anyway? You smell dead."

There was a pause, and then to everyone's shock the guy flushed and broke out in a broad grin. "Oh, you're adorable! I especially love those fuzzy ears of yours…" He licked his lips. "I want them."

"Wha-?" Inuyasha exclaimed, sounding utterly and completely shocked beyond belief and his ears lay flat on his head as if hiding them from the guy.

Kagome would have found it funny, except for the fact that she experienced a sudden and rather surprising surge of possessiveness. "Hey! Those are my ears, Buddy! Hands off!"

The outburst shocked everyone again, including Kagome, and they all sent her bemused and slightly humorous looks. The fuzzy appendages under discussion popped up and swiveled back towards her and he shot a surprised look over his shoulder, before he snorted and a tiny grin popped up on his lips as his eyebrow cocked.

Thankfully, before anyone could tease her, all their attention was drawn back to the enemy, who apparently didn't deem her worth paying attention to.

"Come now Inuyasha, fight me. I want to taste you." He said, in a disturbingly silky voice.

That drew their focus back to the matter at hand, and Miroku muttered, "Wait, Inuyasha, you said this guy smells dead? Do you suppose he's one of those dead men who's been revived like the rumors said?"

"Yeah, no doubt about that."

"Hey, who are you? Are you one of these warriors risen from the dead that the rumors have been speaking of?" Miroku called to the guy.

He turned his sparkling eyes towards Miroku. "I'm flattered you know me…yes, I am Jakotsu, with the band of seven, a group of mercenaries so wonderful and terrible that we were killed many years ago due to the fear we instilled in people." After saying so, he cocked his head and leered at Miroku. "You know monk, Inuyasha is handsome, but you're pretty sexy yourself."

Sango gasped and it looked like she was trying to decide whether to laugh or get mad.

Miroku, meanwhile, seemed to get pretty ticked off. "Nobody minds if I use my wind tunnel do they?"

"Nooo." Inuyasha responded firmly and with a slightly pissed and sardonic lilt.

"Oh…you're cute when you're angry, Inuyasha…" The guy said, teasing him once again, and Inuyasha snapped.

"Oh shut up." He barked and went at the pretty boy with Tessaiga. A surprisingly difficult battle ensued, Jakotsu possessing some sort of whip/switch blade sword that folded back on itself many times and flipped around so fast and unpredictably that even Inuyasha had problems with it. Sango even had to step in to tangle up the sword with Hiraikotsu to allow Inuyasha to get close enough to land a blow on the guy.

Then, he disappeared in a cloud of poison smoke right as the battle seemed to be making headway, and they were forced to leave, the toxic gas much to potent to risk going after the enemy.

Once they had put enough distance between them and the smoke, they stopped to bandage up the wounds Sango had acquired during the battle. Inuyasha, of course, refused treatment, much to Kagome's exasperation. Still, she was glad she had restocked her medkit that she carried in her small pack. Sango only had a few cuts, nothing too bad, so it was easy enough to rub some ointment on them and patch her up with bandages.

"I can still smell him." Inuyasha said after a while and everyone turned to look at him.

"Okay…so what do we do?" Shippō asked.

"That's obvious isn't it? I'm gonna go take him out. If we're dealing with seven of these guys, we should get them when they're alone and pick 'em off one by one."

Miroku blinked. "That's a smart idea."

Inuyasha sent him a dirty look. "Why ya always sound so surprised when you say that? You think I'm dumb or something?"

"No, no. Nothing of the sort." Miroku responded quickly, waving his hands around in a placating manner and a broad grin on his face.

Inuyasha just snorted and rolled his eyes. "Well, whatever. I'm gonna go put this guy back in the ground where he belongs. I'll meet you all back here in a bit."

"Wait…Inuyasha!" Kagome sighed, dropping her hand as he bounded away.

He had been a lot better about not going off and doing stuff like this on his own, but occasionally he still got impatient and wanted to go and fix something himself. And it still ticked her off. With an exasperated sigh she shook her head and tsked her tongue, turning back to Sango to finish patching her up.

After a while, Kagome set off to find a source of water, leaving Miroku and Sango by themselves. She suspected Miroku wanted to tend to Sango himself for a bit, not that there was really anything left for him to do. The sudden image of Miroku kissing Sango's boo-boos, made Kagome smirk to herself, her imagination running wild as usual and pulling forth the amusing image to entertain her.

"Hey look, there's a well over there." Shippō piped up after a moment, pointing in the direction of the stony structure, and Kagome sighed, relieved.

"Good. I'm glad it wasn't too far. I don't wanna split up for too long with these undead bandits running around."

"Yeah, smart idea. If only Inuyasha was as smart as you, Kagome, maybe he wouldn't go off to fight by himself."

She snorted. "Yeah, Shippō, but he's been better about it lately."

"I guess."

They walked over to the well, and immediately knew something was very, very wrong. There were a few people scattered around the well, all of them laying on the ground, seemingly passed out.

"They're, they're dead…"Kagome gasped as she approached them.

As she looked around, she saw a few birds dropping from the sky, dying on the spot. "This isn't good…it must be poison…"

"We better get out of here…" Shippō agreed.

She nodded and turned to run, but was interrupted by a blast of gas hitting her right in the face. A squat, ugly man with a scarf over his mouth had snuck up behind her and was now holding some sort of canister pointed at her, blowing the poisonous gas at her.

Immediately she felt her muscles began to tingle and then grow weak, her entire body becoming slack. She was unable to prevent herself from sinking to her knees.

"Oh don't worry, this isn't going to kill you, it'll just paralyze you. Unfortunately it doesn't have an effect on demons…"

"Run…Shippō…"

"No!" He barked, and bravely attacked the guy with his spinning top. But the enemy seemed unaffected by the fox magic, and just blew a blast of gas at him.

Shippō collapsed, coughing and wheezing, and the guy kicked him away.

"Shippō!"

At that moment, the others ran up, Sango wearing her gas mask thankfully.

"So you're the one responsible for the poisonous gas!" Miroku announced. "Are you one of the band of seven?"

The ugly toad of a man chuckled. "Yes indeed. I am Mikotsu, poison master."

So saying, he launched a poison smoke bomb at them, one that exploded and took them all out in one hit.

"No…Sango…Miroku…Kilala…" Kagome wheezed, fully collapsing onto the ground face-first, her hand reaching out to them and flopping into the dirt alongside her face.

Why her? Why did she always end up powerless and kidnapped or paralyzed, or controlled by a curse, or brainwashed by an evil demon…it just didn't seem fair.

"I'm gonna go get Inuyasha!" Was the last thing she heard vaguely from Shippō before she passed out.

* * *

INUYASHA POV

* * *

"Kagome's been kidnapped!"

Inuyasha whipped around, quickly locating Shippō, who was running at top speed in his little horse form.

"Say what?!"

"Kagome's been kidnapped by another of the band of seven!" The little fox demon repeated, popping back into his normal form and bending over to pant, his little hands propped on his knees.

"Dammit! Not again!" Inuyasha hissed, and then growled as his opponent called his attention from across the field.

"Inuyasha! Don't you dare run off after some girl in the middle of our fight!"

He spun and snarled at the guy, obscenely disgusted with him. He didn't give a fat fuck what sexuality this guy preferred as long as he kept him out of it. And he was seriously annoyed with the asshole after being on the receiving end of his perverted come-ons and his sword. Now, with Kagome in trouble, it was the final nail in the coffin so to speak, and he rallied every bit of power he had to his sword, sending a massive wind scar at Jakotsu.

"Fine! I'll just kill you and be done with it!" He bellowed, sending a second wind scar to back up the first.

This particular bloody battle was finally over, and Inuyasha set off in pursuit of Kagome. Shippō hopped up onto his shoulder and guided him back to the spot where she was kidnapped. He found the passed out bodies of Sango and Miroku, with a highly concerned Kilala pacing around them, her fur raised.

"Oi, Kilala, keep watch over these guys for me. I'm gonna get Kagome." He bellowed, tossing Shippō at her to join the other two she was already watching. The little fox yelped and then stood to yell protests at his back, but he simply wasn't listening. He was much too focused on getting to Kagome to be bothered.

He followed her scent, all the way to a small hut not too far away from the poisoned well. He picked up the pace, ready to blast through the door of the hut, but suddenly had to throw himself to the side as someone came crashing out through the wall. He landed on his feet and skidded a little ways, kicking up dust as he twisted towards whatever had been thrown at him. He came to a halt and crouched, ready to do battle, only to pause and squint in confusion.

"And stay down, you rude toad man!"

His head whipped around, and he stared, astonished as Kagome came stomping out of the hole in the wall the projectile had created. That projectile turned out to be the very same poison master that had kidnapped her, and he had obviously done something pretty extreme to piss Kagome off this badly. She was in her demon form, and was positively livid, her hands balled up into fists as she glared at him.

He slowly peeled himself off the ground and coughed, before grabbing up a discarded canister of what Inuyasha could smell was poison.

"Oh no ya don't!" Inuyasha spat.

Before the guy could open it, Inuyasha was sending an iron reaver attack at him with his claws, aimed just right to slice off his hand and send it and the poison canister flying out of his reach. His sudden arrival caught them both by surprise.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed, her lips parting in a smile.

"Hey Kagome, Shippō seemed to think you were in some kinda trouble, but it looks like you've got it all under control."

"Well…" She paused to chuckle uncomfortably. "I sort of lost my temper when he said he wanted to marry me and got all inappropriate."

He could feel a blood vessel begin to pound in his forehead. "What?!"

His mind immediately went to the worst possible places and he slowly turned to look at the guy who had apparently accosted his mate. "You… _ **bastard**_ …" He snarled and felt his eyes flash dangerously. He held onto his humanity by a thread, and quickly assuaged his bloodlust by lunging forwards and killing the enemy with his claws, cutting him into ribbons with no remorse whatsoever.

"Inuyasha…are you…?"

He turned at Kagome's hesitant voice. "No, I'm still me. Don't worry."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good, I'm glad. For a moment there it totally looked like you went feral."

He blinked, amused and surprised, his anger slowly seeping out of him in light of this new information. "Is that what you call it?"

She flushed. "Er, well, yeah. Sort of."

"Well, can't say it isn't accurate." He snorted.

Kagome grinned, a little uncomfortably.

A thought occurred to him, an alternate usage of the word 'feral' and how he'd heard it used before, and he could feel a small smirk lift his lips as his mind went down some slightly dirtier paths. He quickly schooled his expression though as she cocked her head and looked curiously at him, her interest obviously peeked. He wasn't about to share those particular thoughts with her…not yet at least. He didn't want to scare her off or make her any more uncomfortable, so he just cleared his throat and hopped over to her, distracting her by scooping her up onto his back. She sputtered, obviously surprised by the sudden move, and he smirked again, free to do so now that she couldn't see his mouth.

They set off to rejoin the others.

* * *

Author's Note:

A little bit of a lighter chapter here... I'm trying to get through this bit relatively quickly, but I had to include these two crazy characters.

I hope everyone enjoys the new chapter and the bit of fluff. :3

As always, a big thanks to all my wonderful reviewers out there. You guys are absolutely amazing.


	20. Chapter 20

As soon as everyonehad awoken and recovered from the poison that had knocked them out, they proceeded on their route towards the mountain, a bit more cautiously now. Naturally as they got closer, even more odd things started happening, not the least of which being who they met along the way.

They had already run into several interesting characters in those band of seven guys they had already defeated, and now, they encountered yet another surprise … Kikyo.

First, they started seeing her soul collectors, and then as they continued, they reached a spot where a good number of the long white demons were swirling about in the air.

"Why are they all here? Kikyo isn't here." Kagome wondered out loud, looking around for the other priestess.

"It looks like they want to go this way, but can't for some reason." Sango observed, and soon after as they watched, one of the soul collectors flew further down the road, only to hit some sort of invisible wall and disintegrate.

Kagome flinched, not liking to see the loyal demons be hurt and killed, even if they belonged to a woman who didn't like her very much.

"It looks like there's some sort of barrier." Miroku noted.

"Yeah, no shit." Inuyasha mumbled next to Kagome, and she lightly swatted him on the shoulder. His white fluffy ears swiveled to point at her. "What?!" he protested.

"Be nice." She admonished, and then added, "Miroku's right. There's probably a demon repelling barrier. This _is_ a holy mountain after all. We'll need to proceed carefully."

He nodded and they continued on at a slower pace. Sure enough, Inuyasha, Shippō, and to a smaller extent Kagome all felt an uncomfortable wooziness and stingy sensation as they passed through what turned out to be the first of many barriers.

Soon, they came upon Kikyo slumped and resting at the base of a large tree.

"Kikyo! Are you alright?" Inuyasha exclaimed, hurrying over to her worriedly.

Kagome followed, also concerned about the other priestess. Sure, she wasn't the other woman's biggest fan. They had had some spats and fights, and Kikyo had tried to kill her on occasion, but in the end she was still her fellow priestess, and she was still a woman who loved Inuyasha, and who he used to love and still obviously cared about. Though he had assured Kagome that he held no romantic feelings towards Kikyo anymore, she knew he still cared about her, she was his first love after all. You can't just erase a bond like that.

Kikyo's eyes opened, and turned to Inuyasha, and then noticed Kagome behind him. She sighed and sat up more fully.

Kagome stepped forwards. "We saw your soul collectors being blocked some ways back. Isn't it dangerous for you to be here?"

"Perhaps."

"Then you should return to them." She continued, worried about how pale the other woman looked.

"Are you worried about me, Kagome?" She turned her dark, fathomless eyes to look up at her, and Kagome felt just a tad uncomfortable at the scrutiny.

"Well… yeah. You don't look so good Kikyo, and without your soul collectors there isn't any way for you to get better." Kagome huffed.

Kikyo sighed. "I'll never understand you, Kagome. I stole your jewel shard on our last meeting and attempted to kill you the time before that. Why would you be concerned for my wellbeing?"

Inuyasha looked back and forth between them, his eyebrows furrowed. The others also seemed quite tense.

Kagome shrugged. "You said you had a plan for it, although I guess that didn't pan out since it ended up in Naraku's hands, huh? Also, I've been wondering, were you really trying to kill me the time before that? Because you missed a whole lot more than you normally would have. If you were serious about it, I would be dead."

Kikyo looked away. "You are correct. I did not truly wish to kill you. I was attempting to purify Inuyasha's demon blood from your veins and break the bond that you had forged with him. I knew…even before he told me, what it meant when you took off that necklace and turned into a demon."

"I'm sorry, Kikyo." Kagome simply responded, truly meaning it. At this point, she only felt sorrow for the other woman, who had died in such a horrible way, had been brought back to life against her will, and was now living her life separated from the man she loved.

Kikyo turned her dark eyes back up and met Kagome's. "You are sorry that Inuyasha chose to be with you?"

Kagome shook her head no. "I'm not sorry about that. But I wish that you weren't in pain. I'm your incarnation after all. That basically makes us family."

Kikyo chuckled. "I guess it does." She slowly stood, staggering a bit. "Kagome…I apologize for attacking you. That was wrong of me, and unseemly of a priestess."

Kagome flushed, not having expected any kind of apology from the proud priestess. "Oh! Uh, hey, don't worry about it. It's all fine. I'm not mad about that anymore." She laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head.

"So then you forgive me?"

Kagome nodded. "Yes. I forgive you Kikyo."

"Thank you Kagome."

After a slightly tense and awkward pause, Inuyasha entered the conversation. "Well, I'm glad you two made up, but why are you here Kikyo? Kagome's right, you shouldn't be somewhere your soul collectors can't."

Kikyo sighed again; it seemed they were boring her or exasperating her. "I have some unfinished business to tend to. Once it is complete then I will leave this place."

Inuyasha scowled.

After a brief argument, he managed to get her to promise to finish as fast as she could and leave. After that, there wasn't really anything else to talk about, and so they took their leave.

That night, after they all set up camp and the others were asleep, Kagome approached Inuyasha where he was perched up in a tree at the edge of their campsite.

"Hey." She called up softly to him.

He looked down. "Hey," he called back.

"Can I join you?"

"I dunno, can you?" He snarked, a slight grin pulling at his lips though he kept his signature scowl in place.

"Don't be smart with me, remember I can "s" word you out of that tree at any moment."

"But you won't." He grinned.

She heaved a sigh. "Yeah, I'm doing my best to control that habit. But try not to tempt me." She wagged her finger and then judged the height of the first branch.

She leapt and grabbed on, trying to walk her way up the tree trunk so she could wrap her legs around the branch. Her feet slipped and she swung for a moment before dropping back to the forest floor.

Inuyasha snickered at her. "That would be a lot easier if you took your necklace off."

"Yeah, but I'm still a bit sore from our last sparring match." She complained.

"That's cause you overdid it. Try doin' it for just a small boost in physical power." He advised, going into teacher mode. He made a surprisingly good teacher…when he managed to control his impatience.

She sighed and unclasped the necklace around her neck, putting it into her pocket, and felt the transformation happen.

She definitely felt stronger as a part-demon, and she used the extra strength to grab onto the branch again, and then walked up the trunk like she had tried to do previously. She found it quite simple to hitch a leg over the branch and heft herself up. Even her balance was better, and it didn't take her any time at all to climb up to sit next to Inuyasha on his perch.

"Hi." She grinned happily, pleased with her accomplishment.

"See, that was easy right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, you were right. For once…" She teased.

He scowled. "Hey. I'm right a lot!"

"I know. I'm just teasing you."

After a peaceful silence, Inuyasha broke it with a quiet, "I'm glad you and Kikyo were able to get along today."

"Yeah. Me too."

They sat there for a while, leaning against each other and enjoying each other's company.

The next day they set out for the mountain and reached the base by midday. There, they hit a strong barrier, one that Inuyasha couldn't pass through without a great deal of pain. It even hurt Kagome to touch it. So, they were forced to split up.

Sango and Miroku entered through the barrier, going to explore the mountain for any hint of Naraku, while Inuyasha and Kagome waited outside.

They waited one hour.

Then they waited another hour.

And then another.

Inuyasha didn't handle it well.

Kagome sighed and looked over at the antsy half-demon, whose bouncy knee had caught her attention. She was stuck between the desire to laugh and the urge to groan. It was annoying and amusing at the same time.

"Inuyasha…"

"Hm?" He grunted, glancing over at her.

"Stop fidgeting. It isn't going to make it go faster."

He scowled. "I'm not fidgeting!"

"Then why is your knee bouncing?"

He looked down, seeming surprised when he noticed the anomaly. He grabbed onto the offending appendage to stop it by force, scowling at his own leg heatedly in admonishment.

Kagome chuckled softly and then scooted closer to him. She reached out and smoothed her hand over the top of his head, stroking his soft hair and fluffy ears. He instantly turned into a puddle of goo, leaning into her and nearly ending up in her lap.

"Kagome…." He groaned in protest.

"Just trying to take your mind off of things."

He grumbled a little.

When he didn't jerk away she continued to play with his ears, starting by just petting his head and then moving to rubbing one ear directly. When he still didn't pull away she turned more towards him and watched as she played with his ear, making it fold over, then manipulating the base to turn it this way or that gently, using it as a way to distract herself as well from the pervasive boredom. She was sure to rub his ear in between her manipulations, to reward him for being so patient with her playing with him. She smoothed it back flat with her hand stroking over the top, and then when she lifted her hand it stayed lying flat until she tucked her fingers underneath to lift it back upright. She did that for a few minutes, amused by it staying where she put it.

He seemed to enjoy it, and she made sure to stay gentle, knowing how sensitive his ears were. Once she had tired of that she decided to just rub them, switching back and forth, giving little light scratches around the base that had him leaning even more into her. Then she settled on one and cupped it in her hand, using her fingers to massage and rub the outside while she slipped her thumb inside and rubbed the extra soft fluff inside his ear. That really got him going, and soon he was producing a constant stream of low volume sounds, soft whines and growls that had her blushing just a little. She knew he liked this, but still wasn't entirely sure if it was an innocent pleasure or if it was arousing to him. The sounds he was making didn't really help her decide, they could go either way.

Judging strictly by his facial expression, she was forced to lean more towards it being arousing, given the way his cheeks were flushed, his eyes rolled back into his head, and his lips parted. It was mostly the flushed cheeks that suggested to her that it felt better than just a simple head scratch.

Either way, she thoroughly enjoyed doing it, and absolutely loved the reactions she was getting from him. She set out to experiment with different ways of touching his ears to see if she could figure out what felt best to him. Scratching had gotten her sighs and some random twitches, rubbing was getting her a more blissful expression and his leaning into her hand more. She slid her fingers to the tip and rubbed it lightly between her fingers and he gave a deep whine, indicating that that particular touch did something different. Then she tried taking her hand off his ear entirely and just lightly ran a single finger over the very tip, which tickled her finger to the point she couldn't keep it up for long. But it was long enough to get him to crack his eyelids and give her a look out of molten gold eyes. It was a look that said, ' _stop teasing dammit!_ '

She grinned and slid her fingers back down to give him more firm rubs. He immediately groaned and his eyes slid shut again. Then she tried slipping her thumb inside his ear again, and very lightly ran her thumbnail up the length to the tip. He tensed up entirely, his shoulders hunching and his fingernails digging into the soil. He also gasped rather loudly and seemed to almost choke on himself. She raised her eyebrows, rather shocked by that response. She rubbed him more firmly again and he relaxed some. After a little while she tried it again, and got a similar response, although this time he groaned…in a way she hadn't entirely expected.

She was blushing quite hotly by this point, pretty sure he was feeling some not-so-innocent things.

Eventually her curiosity won out over her shyness. "Hey Inuyasha?"

"Hm?" He hummed.

"How does this feel? I mean obviously it feels good, but does it feel good like scratching an itch? Or soothing? Or…something else?"

He grunted, cracking one eye open to look at her as she kept rubbing his ear. "Uh…a little of everything I guess. Depends on what you're doing."

"Oh. Then how about when I do this?" She switched to stroking the top of his head, petting him with a flat gentle hand, smoothing over his ears and laying them flat.

He sighed happily. "…more soothing than anything else I guess."

She switched again to scratching around the base, immediately getting a few twitches from his crossed legs. "How about this?"

He grunted. "Uh…d-dunno. It's like… scratching something super itchy, except a hundred times better." He groaned, and then added, "Stimulating and satisfying at the same damn time."

She gulped, wondering what he meant by 'stimulating' exactly, but switched again to lightly flicking just the tip, getting a glare in response. Before she even had to ask he growled, "And that's just you being a fucking tease."

She snickered and switched to rubbing. "I figured as much. How about this?"

He sighed again, and then some soft rumbles escaped his chest before he responded. "Feels good. Like a massage. But more…uh…exciting."

She raised her eyebrows, flushing at the pretty obvious admission.

Her fingers stalled for a second, and he cracked his eye open again to look at her. He got a slightly mischievous grin, one fang making an appearance. "What? It's not like you didn't know what you were doing to me. You suddenly too shy to continue?"

She scowled at him, giving his ear in her fingers a gentle tug for his teasing.

He hissed and his other eye opened to give her a look, complete with a raised eyebrow. "Dunno if you meant for that to hurt, but it didn't."

She just flushed hotter and went back to rubbing his ear as she said, "I still like playing with your ears. I'm not shy." The last part was said with a slight huff and pout to it.

"Hah. Then why are you blushing?"

"B-because…I-" She cast around for a suitable excuse, and failed. "I just am okay? I blush when it comes to these sorts of things." She grumbled.

"Yeah, I noticed." He huffed another laugh and then unexpectedly brought his head closer to hers, making her heart skip a few rhythms and them pound away in her chest like it was training for a marathon. He rested his forehead against hers, her hand still securely fastened to his ear. "As long as you're comfortable, Kagome. If you ever blush because you're not comfortable with what we're doing then tell me and we'll stop."

She swallowed thickly. "Uh…y-yeah. Thanks, Inuyasha." She whispered, her fingers frozen on his fluffy ear.

He didn't withdraw, he just kept his forehead resting against hers, and the air between them grew more humid with their combined breaths. Thankfully they had both chewed on mint leaves after their last meal, otherwise the experience would have been much less pleasant.

And then, his lips met hers, and Kagome found herself kissing him. His mouth moved against hers, the way it had before, opening and closing, pressing closer and withdrawing, using harder and softer pressure, there was some suction, and she returned the gestures, their lips rubbing against and together.

It was hot, and soft, and moist, the skin of his lips a tad chapped as always. His lips parted, nibbling on her bottom lip and then lightly sucking on it. And then his tongue came out and licked her lips. She grimaced. "Inuyasha…umph!"

As odd and slightly gross as it was to have him lap at her lips with his tongue, when he took advantage of her parted and complaining lips to slip it into her mouth, it became less so. It felt odd, to be sure, and not what she would have necessarily expected French kissing to feel like. It was sort of slimy, slippery, and perhaps could be gross, but at the same time it was amazing. He continued to kiss her, his lips still moving against hers, though less so now, and his tongue lapped inside her mouth, as if he was licking at her, the slippery invader sliding forwards and then retreated for a moment only to return again. It all fell into a rhythm almost, even their head bobbing together as if to an unseen, unheard music. And it was wonderful.

Kagome got swept up in the moment, lost in the kiss, the first that she had ever had with tongues involved, and it took her a while to acclimate. She eventually moved her own tongue against his, hesitantly sliding it along the underside of his as it stroked into her mouth, lapping at the roof of her mouth and making her squirm at the nearly ticklish sensation. Once she slid her tongue against his, he altered his attention and intentionally slid his tongue beside hers, licking her tongue. She tried to match his rhythm, and soon her mouth was tingling and warm and extra sensitive in a way she was unfamiliar with, but which felt very good indeed.

After a long moment he pulled back and kissed down her neck. Halfway down he paused and then jerked back, looking somewhere over her shoulder.

"What is it?" She knew he had just sensed something, and probably something not good judging by how he had tensed up. She immediately switched gears, the arousal in her body fading fast as she forced alertness upon her mind.

"I smell blood…Koga's blood."

"Koga? He's here?" Kagome sputtered, and then sputtered some more as Inuyasha sprung to his feet and scooped her onto his back, taking off at a run. She was quickly totally focused on the danger ahead of them, though she couldn't help but be slightly flustered and frustrated at the interruption.

"I smell those dead guys. The rotten corpse smell is unmistakable."

They raced towards the battle zone, getting there right as a huge explosion went off.

"Shit!" Inuyasha cussed, ducking behind a rock.

Once the coast was clear he took off towards where the explosion had taken place, looking around for Koga and the enemy. The enemy had already taken off it seemed, and Koga was no-where to be found at first glance.

"Koga! Are you here?!" Kagome called out, and was answered by a muffled yell.

They turned towards it, and saw a large sheet of metal being moved. It was tossed aside to show Koga and his two pack mates, bloody and bruised but still standing.

"Hey there, Mutt! Kagome!" With a flash he was there, dragging Kagome off Inuyasha's back and holding her hands in his as he professed his love and adoration, as usual. "Kagome! I've missed you!"

Inuyasha snarled. "Oi! Hands off, Wolf!"

As usual, Koga wasn't good at picking up on social cues. He totally ignored the incensed demon behind Kagome and focused all his starry-eyed attention on her. "I haven't been able to find Naraku yet Kagome, but I swear I will find him and bring his head back to you!"

Before she could even do her normal uncomfortable laugh, Inuyasha had pulled her back into his arms, his claws rather sharp where they poked through her clothes in his tight grip. He stuck his head over her shoulder aggressively and growled ferally at the wolf. "I said, BACK OFF!"

Even Koga was shocked into taking a step back. "Woah! What's got into you, Mutt? Never seen you quite _this_ territorial."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and Kagome felt him withdraw his head, only to feel his mouth on the back of her neck a second later. She yelped, "Inuyasha! What are you doing?!"

It became clear as her fang necklace dropped, the clasp undone by his teeth. She caught it as it fell. Inuyasha's head came back forward and he glared at Koga. "As you can see, I've claimed Kagome. Back. The. Fuck. Off."

Koga's eyes were wide and shocked, his stare aimed at her neck now. And then a deep growl rumbled up, and Kagome knew if he was actually a canine all his hair would have been standing on end. Things quickly devolved from there, Kagome nearly getting ignored as a macho pissing contest descended upon her unsuspecting person. She somehow managed to extricate herself as both males went at each other, snarling, fangs flashing, claws slashing at each other, and a rather disturbing amount of drool flying.

Kagome and Koga's pack mates stood off on the sidelines, watching as the two fought, no words really being spoken except for a few curse words and slurs every now and then, but it almost seemed animalistic in the way they went at each other's throats and growled at each other. They went at it for a good few minutes, without either seeming to be particularly willing to grow a few brain cells and stop.

After a while Kagome finally lost her patience with the two idiots and draped her necklace back on before drawing her bow, loading it with an arrow which she packed with power, and aimed for the space between their feet. She waited for a clean shot, and when it came she let the arrow fly. It landed perfectly, right between them, and exploded, sending them both back a few feet.

She stomped her way between them and as the dust settled she fixed first one, and then the other, with a rather frightening look, and did her best growly demonic Inuyasha impression. "Both of you stop this nonsense right now. We have an enemy to defeat, weird undead warriors popping out of the woodwork, a strange mountain that may be hiding Naraku, and who knows what else. Now is not the time for your stupid pissing contest."

Both met her glare and then averted their eyes as she stared them down. They both grumbled but slunk to their respective places, Inuyasha by her side and Koga joining his pack mates.

Koga's shoulders slumped and he gave a great sigh. "Well, fine. I guess you won, Mutt. This time." He grumbled, the admission of defeat coming out kind of sarcastically. Then he perked up again, in true Koga style, and stepped forward to passionately say, "Kagome, if you ever want me to contest his claim for real, let me know."

She nodded and smiled. "Thank you Koga, but I don't think that'll ever happen."

Unbeknownst to her, Inuyasha had tilted his head in a very specific way, so that his long white hair fell aside and exposed his own claim mark. He gave a broad smirk at the other demon, who scowled. But Koga couldn't help but send an impressed glance at Kagome, obviously surprised she had claimed Inuyasha in return.

"Well, I've got shit to do." The wolf demon huffed, pulling himself together and blasting off, slightly slower than usual since he was all beat up.

His two minions cried out for him, asking to not leave them behind as they set off after him.

Kagome stared after the three, blinking at the quick withdrawal. Inuyasha was still grinning broadly, and as Kagome turned to look at him she snorted when she caught sight of his face. "You look like the cat who got the cream." She snickered, using one of her grandfather's old expressions she had heard a million times.

He stayed grinning for a few more seconds and then abruptly scowled. "Hey! Who're you callin' a cat?!"

Kagome burst out laughing. "Sorry! I didn't think that would offend you…"

He sniffed. "I'm a dog demon Kagome. Dog. D.O.G."

She only laughed harder. "It's just a _saying_ , Inuyasha. Grandpa always says that about someone who looks really smug. Like a cat who got cream. See?"

He sniffed again, still seeming insulted. "Cat's shouldn't even have cream. That's what Sango says anyway."

"Well, whatever. Everyone associated cats with milk anyways. Like I said, it's _just_ a saying. Let it go." Kagome sighed, wiping tears from her eyes that had leaked out from laughing so hard.

He humphed, making his typical, "Huh," sound. Then his ears twitched and a tiny smirk curled the corners of his lips.

Kagome blinked, only very rarely seeing that particular expression on his face, and only since they had become an official couple. It was frighteningly similar to some of the expressions she had seen on Miroku's face when he had something dirty going through it. "What are you thinking Inuyasha?"

"Hm? Why?" He asked, sounding intentionally innocent.

Her eyes narrowed. "Because you're smirking like Miroku when he's being perverted."

The smirk got just a smidge bit bigger and then he forced it down. "Dunno what you're talking about, Kagome."

Then he turned and walked away, leaving Kagome blinking after him. "Wha-Wait just a moment! Where are you going?"

"To find the one that got away, or Sango and Miroku. Whoever I run into first."

"You still haven't told me what you were thinking."

He snorted. "I doubt you wanna know, Kagome. Leave off."

She kept at it, her curiosity working in overdrive, even though in the back of her mind she knew he was probably right.

"Come on."

"No. It was nothing!"

"If it was nothing then you'd tell me!"

He growled.

"Inuyasha! I'll 'you-know-what' you if you don't tell me!"

"No you won't."

"Yes I will!"

He sent her a slanty eyed look. "Like I said, you're gonna get all silly and embarrassed again if I tell you, so just drop it already!"

"Silly and embarrassed?!" She huffed, mildly offended. "Inuyasha! Tell me right now! What exactly were you thinking about that had you smirking like that! I've never seen an expression like that before on your face!"

He grumbled.

"Come on Inuyasha! You're a guy, right? So you're gonna have some thoughts from time to time, but why haven't I ever seen it before? I see it on Miroku all the time!"

"That's cause he's going after every girl out there. I only think about you like that, and I'm usually too busy _saving_ your ass to have time to _think_ about your ass!"

She blinked at his barked and slightly exasperated reply. He had a point, perhaps not an entirely accurate point since it wasn't always her that he was busy saving, but if it wasn't her then it was someone else, or else he was simply fighting to protect them all, or else he was carrying her from one village to another, or else he was off hunting. It made since why he wouldn't have time to really think about stuff like that. But still, she was sure he had those sorts of thoughts whenever he did have time, and since she had a prime opportunity, she wanted to know what sort of things went through his head.

"Okay, you're busy. I get that, but I know you still have those sorts of thoughts. I just haven't ever seen one cross your mind so clearly before. Come on Inuyasha, we're a couple now." She put a bit of oomph into her whine.

Eventually he gave in with an exasperated sigh. "Fine!" He sent her a slanty challenging look. "I thought that 'old saying' that you mentioned wasn't entirely untrue, but it's not exactly accurate either, since I haven't actually … had any yet."

"Any what?"

He shook his head. "Cream, Kagome. Remember? It's your saying, Idiot."

She ignored the insult, too busy trying to figure out what he was getting at. She got a feeling he was saying something other than what he was actually saying, but she didn't quite get it right away. "Huh? You've never had cream before?"

He rolled his eyes and snorted. "Was thinkin' about a _different_ kinda cream, Kagome."

"…a different kind of….?" She mumbled under breath, thinking it over. He just stared at her with an amused and slightly impatient expression on his face. And then it hit her. He couldn't possibly mean… _that_ , right? She'd heard of a woman's arousal referred to as cream before, but she hadn't ever personally thought of it as such, since it was really more clear than creamy.

She blinked, shocked, her mouth popping open a little.

He snorted again. "And there it is. Finally figured it out did ya?"

She flushed, deciding she wasn't going to ask if it was in fact _that_ , that he was talking about. She was pretty sure it was, but this was one conversation that needed to stop here, because he had been right. She was getting all silly and embarrassed now.

He snickered. "Told you you'd get embarrassed."

She sent a stern look his way. "I'm not…embarrassed…" At his cocked eyebrow she relented, grumbling, "Okay, so maybe I am. Whatever."

He chuckled. "You're so cute, Kagome, but you're gonna have to stop getting all shy and shit. It could make things difficult."

She scowled at him. "Hey! I'll get used to it! It's just still pretty new is all!"

He rolled his eyes. "Well, we'll see."

She pointed at him. "You still get shy when I mess with your ears!"

He flushed a tiny bit. "That's different!"

"How so?"

"Because it's a weakness…" He grumbled under his breath.

"No it isn't. You just like having your ears scratched. Why's that a weakness?"

He sent her a look. "You really don't know how debilitating it is when you mess with my ears, do you?"

She blinked, "Debilitating? That sounds like an injury or something."

"Not far off…" He mumbled. "It's like…like I can't move or think. Everything turns to jelly and I can't stop any of it from happening. So yeah, it's a weakness."

She blinked, kinda blown away by that confession. She never would have thought that it felt _that_ good. But apparently it did, and that made all sorts of thoughts spin through her head. She only wanted to touch his ears more now after finding out about this new piece of information, and as he trotted along, with her on his back now, she stared at the tempting furry white triangles, wondering what would happen if she grabbed one while he was running. Would he stop? Would he collapse?

She stopped herself from going through with it though. This was not the time or place for her to mess with his ears.

They continued on in relative silence after that, continuing to hunt for Miroku and Sango along the edge of the barrier, along with the enemy that Inuyasha said had escaped from Koga. Night fell quickly as they hunted, it having already been evening when they saw Koga. And with the night came rain…cold rain, and lots of it.

So they found shelter in the form of a cave a little ways further down the mountain. It was pretty late, so they started a fire to ward off the chill before resting. They only had Kagome's sleeping bag with them in her ginormous yellow backpack they had stashed nearby earlier and had gone back to retrieve. The single sleeping bag was better than nothing, and Inuyasha apparently planned on keeping watch at the mouth of the cave so Kagome nestled in to rest. It turned out to be a pretty chilly night though, and after a while she sat up, shivering.

"Hey, you cold?" Inuyasha asked, turning around to face her.

"Yeah…"

He padded over and took off his fire rat robe, draping it over her. She looked up at him, his arms crossed over his chest and looking slightly uncomfortable. Then he walked over to the entrance again. She stopped him by grabbing the edge of his hakama. "Uh, Inuyasha? I think this bag is big enough for both of us…"

It was true that it was a pretty sizable bag, it probably would fit them both if Kagome could unclench her fists from around the fabric and let the string out that was holding the mouth closed tight around her head. It really wasn't _that_ cold, but she wanted his body heat next to her, and frankly just wanted to cuddle with him, not that she'd say it out loud.

He blinked. "Okay…"

She opened up the mouth and unzipped the side a little ways in invitation, and he looked at it doubtfully for a long moment, until she shivered. Then he quickly slipped his feet inside and wormed the rest of the way in, and Kagome wrapped an arm around him to rezip it up.

It was a little snug, but not too much, and she quickly curled into his chest, sighing in contentment. He wrapped one arm around her, the other cushioning his head. After a while he started breathing deeply, snoring in that soft way he had that told her he was sound asleep. Struck by a desire she had been fighting all evening she scooted her way up the bag. She slowly and carefully freed one arm and then reached up, cautiously, gradually, inching her way towards her goal. Finally, she sighed, almost letting her eyes flutter closed in satisfaction as her fingers met the rabbit soft fur of his ears once again. She really couldn't help but wonder if maybe she had an unhealthy fascination with them, but they were just so incredibly cute, and his reactions were so intoxicating when she messed with them. Of course he was asleep at the moment, so she didn't expect any sort of reaction, she really just wanted to touch them and pet the soft fur again.

She had always loved soft things; she loved petting Bujo and feeling soft fluffy things in stores. And Inuyasha's ears were the softest thing she had ever gotten her fingers on.

She lightly petted his ear with her fingers, not wanting to wake him up. She didn't expect any sort of reaction from him, since he was still snoring, but suddenly he was moving, rolling the both of them over in the sleeping bag, crawling on top of her, and then he plopped down. She 'oofed,' his weight heavier than she would have anticipated. But on the other hand, that freed her other arm up. She allowed her other hand to come up and latch onto his other ear, fondling both once she was sure he had slipped into a deep sleep once again.

He had been so tense today, all worked up about being left behind. In fact, he had been tense for a while now, and that kiss earlier had been the first in several weeks since things had picked up. Even in his sleep he seemed tense. She stroked his ears, hoping that it would help him to relax some. He had said it turned him to jelly, so that must mean that it would help…right?

Whatever the case, she wanted to make him relax and feel good. And it seemed to work, his body instantly grew slack against her, even more of his weight laying on top of her as he went limp.

As she continued to play with his ears gently, he started fidgeting a little, his face nuzzling against her where it was resting, which was on her shoulder. He burrowed his nose into her neck, nuzzling some more, and she kept her fingers attached to his ears. She let them go for a minute as he snuggled, moving his head around some as he seemed to rub his face on her. Instead she moved to stroke his head, playing with his long silky hair. He sighed, and then moved around a little, his body sliding down a smidge so his head could rest on her chest, which he nuzzled into with another deep satisfied sigh, apparently happy with the softness. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world for Kagome, but it did give her a better angle to get at his ears, which she once again reached for with her hands.

She stroked and rubbed them gently, enjoying the way his sleepy sounds switched to soft whines and mumbles. His face nuzzled her chest as he snuggled even closer.

She didn't even realize he was waking up. It wasn't until he slowly tilted his head up towards her, his eyes sleepily slanting open to give her a curious look, that she realized she had woken him up.

"Oops, I'm sorry. I hadn't wanted to wake you up. I was just playing with your ears because you seemed tense, even in your sleep. I thought it might help to relax you some."

He lazily blinked, and finally noticed he was on top of her. He scrunched his eyebrows in adorably sleepy confusion, and asked "Wha am I doing on you? Aren't you uncomfortable?"

She shook her head no.

He cocked his head. "I'm not too heavy?"

He kind of was, but she liked it anyway.

"No. You're fine." She soothed, and he relaxed back on top of her, letting his head slump back down to rest against her.

She returned to massaging his ears, and he stiffened slightly before going lax and sighing with pleasure. He stayed put and let her play with his ears, occasionally nuzzling or making some sort of sound, usually a soft whine or growl.

"Does this help you to relax at all? Since you said it made you turn into jelly, I figured it might…."

He sighed, and then mumbled. "Like I said earlier, yes, but it's also exciting. And it depends on what you're doing, remember?"

"Ah, right." She thought back to the conversation about it earlier that day, and the experimentation he had allowed her then.

She was starting to get a slight sense of dejavu, even more so when after a while he sighed and raised his head back up off her chest, his liquid golden eyes meeting hers. "Kagome…stop."

She blinked. "Why? You like it right?"

He grumbled. "We've talked about this, Kagome."

His eyes slid closed and a slight whine came from his throat as she slid her thumbs into his ears and gave them a rub. "Oh come on, you need to relax." She coaxed, not quite done playing with his ears yet, and having too much fun teasing him about it. She had found out that her tendency was to push when it came to Inuyasha, and she was slightly disturbed by the realization that she didn't have more self-control.

He slitted his eyes at her. As if he could read her mind, he growled softly, "You're pushing it Kagome…"

When her hands stayed on his ears, enjoying the flush on his cheeks and the blissful, if cranky, expression on his face, he growled again. "I'm warning you…"

By this point she was curious about just what he would do. He seemed powerless to stop her after all, so what could he possibly do in retaliation? `

She found out really quickly as he tossed his head, dislodging her hands, and then dipped his mouth to her neck, making her pulse suddenly shoot through the roof. That became the least of her concerns as she felt his lips part and his sharp fangs touch her skin. He gave her a gentle bite on her shoulder, barely the tips of his fangs breaking her skin, but she scarcely even felt the pain. It pinched, but it also felt surprisingly good, enough so that she froze. She could feel his lips curls up a little, and then he moved up and nipped her again. That sent a slight shock through her system, and everything in her clenched.

One of his hands slid under her neck, pulling her to him a little more. It proved to have another purpose as well, when she felt her fang necklace go slack and slither off onto the ground somewhere. Once again she had forgotten to take it off before bed.

He nipped her again and she jerked, her hands latching onto his hair and tugging, as if to tug him off. But he wasn't going anywhere; he kept nibbling his way up her neck, and after a moment she realized he was heading to her claim mark, and the closer he got to it the better the light nips felt. His bites even started getting a littler rougher, which only felt better. She had absolutely no idea what was going on, but somewhere in her dazed mind she figured it must be some sort of demon thing. It certainly wasn't normal. She knew people went "necking" or gave each other hickies, but there was no way that having his fangs actually breaking her skin would feel good. It should hurt like crazy, but instead she was having a hard time keeping herself from wiggling under him like some sort of cat in heat. Or, she supposed, in this case she would be a dog in heat.

It was embarrassing, but at the same time she wasn't really given the opportunity to be shy, Inuyasha wasn't letting her think enough to get shy. Even so, she was nervous as he approached the claim mark. She both wanted him to bite her there, and at the same time she didn't. She didn't know if she was quite ready for that yet. She wasn't given a choice though.

He didn't nibble on her when he got there … he bit. His fangs sunk in as deep as they had with the original claim, but it didn't hurt quite as much this time around. Sure, it hurt, but that was almost completely overshadowed by the intense shock of pleasure that blasted her system, almost feeling like an orgasm in its abrupt intensity. The shock of it had her sucking in a sharp breath and holding it as she forced herself to silence. She didn't make noise when she touched herself secretly in the privacy of her bedroom back home, and she sure as heck wasn't going to start now. That would be too embarrassing, and while her shyness had largely been erased in this particular moment, some ingrained things remained with her. She cringed, her small claws finding purchase in his shoulders, getting a growl from him. The growl only sent a vibration through the bite and through her whole body.

She did her best to hold still, but that was another thing entirely and her body arched rather abruptly against Inuyasha all of its own volition at the first bite. She tensed, riding the wave of pleasure and somewhere in her head hoping that it wouldn't send her into an actual orgasm. _That_ would be embarrassing. It almost seemed possible, which was downright crazy in and of itself, and the thought of what this might feel like during other activities had her shuddering once again in aftershocks. She did her best to shove thoughts like that to the back of her mind for now.

Once she had slightly acclimated to the sensation, she realized that his fangs were still in her, and that during her arching she had pressed their bodies more closely together, and now she felt a rather stiff and uncomfortable _something_ shoved against her lower belly. Under any other circumstances she would have removed the source of discomfort, but given the undeniable truth of what exactly was pushing against her so intently, she froze instead. Acclimating to the thought of Inuyasha having a hard-on took a moment, and then she flushed, her shyness coming back full force. It was exciting to find out that he was actually reacting physically to the situation; she had never felt or seen any evidence of it before since he wore such large baggy pants.

By the time he released his jaw from her neck she was panting and blushing, utterly discombobulated and unsure of what to do. He raised his head, looked at her for a brief moment, his fiery eyes flashing, and then dipped in to kiss her mouth. Her shyness stuck around, but she met his kiss and responded, getting into it just as much as he did. Then a wicked thought ran through her mind and she couldn't stop herself from following through with it. Her hands unclenched from his shoulders and climbed up to his head, stroking his hair. She distracted him from realizing her goal by kissing him more vigorously and arching against him just a little, blushing madly as she did so. He was in the middle of a groan as her hands latched onto his ears and he choked on the sound. His groan cut off on a gasp and a cough, and then transformed into a deep whine as his body bucked against her. That was proof enough that her touching his ears was arousing, which she had already figured out anyways.

Her thumbs stroked the fluffy insides while her fingers outside rubbed, and he growled, whined, and then growled again, apparently unsure how he should react to that and kissing at the same time. Her shyness leaked away slightly as she enjoyed his raspy harsh sounds and the ferocity of his kisses. The later was getting a bit much though, and was inching from being pleasurable to being uncomfortable and painful, especially as his fangs ground into her lip. As she thought about disengaging, an even more wicked thought sparked, along with a good deal of curiosity. She now knew firsthand what if felt like to have her claim mark bitten, she couldn't help but wonder if it was the same for him.

It was a good excuse to give her probably bruised lips a slight reprieve, and so she used her hold on his ears to tug his head back. She did it gently, and he pulled back with a moan and whine. She didn't give him a chance to think about why she had stopped the activities, she simply gripped his ears and tilted his head to get to his neck. She locked onto her target fast, not sure if he would be down for this and not interested in giving him the choice really. After all, he hadn't asked her first. If he didn't like it he could tell her to stop.

She bit his claim mark the same way he had bitten hers, rather harshly, and it definitely got a reaction from the half demon on top of her. She held him by the ears as he bucked against her, almost hard enough to hurt her in fact. She was pretty sure if he hadn't already taken her necklace off and she was in human form right now, she might have actually broken something. Probably her pelvis, since that happened to be where his body collided with hers. Repeatedly. Thankfully it was really more against her hip and not against her more delicate bits, because that probably still would have hurt quite a bit. As it was, it was mildly uncomfortable, slightly painful, but mostly just exciting and arousing given the subject matter involved. It wasn't that it felt good, so much as the thought of it was exciting, enough so that she kept at it, going from holding his ears to rubbing them like before, getting an even more intense reaction out of him, especially as she clamped her jaw down and held the bite on his claim mark.

He wasn't exactly being quiet about it, but then again … when was Inuyasha ever quiet? She should have expected him to be vocal, but even so she was slightly surprised by the loud growls coming from him. And then they broke off for him to yelp, "K-Kagome…you need to…sto-ugh. Seriously…s-stop. I'm gonna…."

She got an idea of what he was saying, and contemplated stopping for a moment, but then decided she didn't really want to. She almost didn't expect it, but instantly knew what was going on when he froze against her and then shuddered in an unmistakable release. The choked, bark-like exclamation of, "Haah-" that cut off abruptly on a deep whine was a pretty good indication too. If there was any doubt left in her mind, with them pressed so closely together she could actually feel his erection pulsing, something she wouldn't have ever anticipated really. After all, she was a virgin, she didn't know it jerked like that. She froze as well, blinking, and then blushed as she realized what had just happened, and why. She had essentially just made him cum, and she hadn't even touched him really.

She withdrew her small fangs carefully, getting a small jerk from Inuyasha, who had pretty much gone limp on top of her again, his face buried in her shoulder. He was panting and seemed perfectly content staying put while he caught his breath. She lay there, realized her hands were still on his ears, and switched to smoothing her fingers over them and the top of his head in a much more soothing manner. She was still coming to terms with what had just happened, and after a long moment she couldn't stop the silly grin from spreading across her lips, even with the madly hot blush still radiating heat from her cheeks. Sure, she was sort of embarrassed about what had happened, but she was also very happy, giddy almost.

After a moment Inuyasha pulled back, staring at her with a slightly dazed, rather surprised expression on his face. She suspected she had something similar, aside from the silly grin.

She cocked her head. "So did you just…?"

He blinked down at her, apparently too surprised to come up with a snarky reply. Normally if she had asked something as obvious as that, he would have scowled and said something like, "Heh, duh!" As it was he simply nodded at her, slightly wide eyed.

The verbal confirmation sent another zing of excitement through her gut. She swallowed slightly thickly. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

He cleared his throat and slightly unsteadily got to his feet, saying, "Uh…I need to go clean up. Be right back."

She nodded, watching as he padded silently out the mouth of the cave. Once he was out of sight she blew out a deep breath through her mouth, then chuckled slightly breathlessly for a half second. That had been unexpected. She never would have predicted that they would get so intimate tonight. Then again, it _was_ the first night they had had to themselves for several weeks, and she supposed all that stress had found an outlet. Mostly. Her body was still humming and felt like a live wire with arousal, but she was strangely satisfied.

She had calmed somewhat by the time Inuyasha came back, missing his white undershirt and holding his red fire rat robe in his hands. She blinked, wondering why he was lacking his white shirt, and then after some contemplation realized that his undershirt was tucked into his pants, which showed no sign of a stain. Following the train of logic, the mess he had undoubtedly made must have been on his white kosode, which was rather lucky really. Still, the line of thoughts had her blushing again, and the sight of him in just his red hakama didn't help. Without his normal white shirt, she could see the bare skin of his hips in the holes at the sides of his pants, and that only made her flush harder. Him being in just his hakama was undeniably sexy.

She cleared her throat, deciding to comment on something else. "The tips of your hair are wet. Well, _wetter_." She clarified, since he had raindrops all over his head and skin.

He blinked, and then shook like a dog before answering. "Yeah. I found a stream nearby to wash in."

He tossed the bundle of red cloth to rest near her yellow bag and she lifted the edge of the sleeping bag, noting how he seemed unsure if he should rejoin her or not. He didn't need any further invitation and slid into the sleeping bag with her once again swiftly. She nestled against his bare chest, wondering if her cheeks could get any hotter. Probably.

"So, you washed your white shirt in the stream?" She asked, continuing the conversation to distract herself.

"Yeah." He murmured, nuzzling the top of her head. He was being uncharacteristically gentle and cuddly for once, and she thoroughly enjoyed it. She sighed, relaxing slightly.

Maybe they should do this more often if it made him so sweet…then again, even without the surprising benefit she would have wanted to do it again. Repeatedly.

He breathed in her scent, snuffling at her hair. And then he tensed slightly and cleared his throat. "Uh…Kagome? I know I … uh, released. But you didn't, did you?"

Even the loud-spoken, normally unfazed Inuyasha sounded slightly embarrassed and uncomfortable talking about stuff like this, which made her feel slightly better about her shyness. On the other hand, his question had sparked all her shyness in full force and she found out the answer to her previous pondering. Yes, her face could get hotter.

She honestly didn't know how to respond, but decided the best course of action would be to power through. If they were going to be a couple they needed to get comfortable conversing about this sort of thing after all.

"Er….n-no. That would be a no. Why the heck are you asking? This is kinda an embarrassing topic of conversation you know…"

He echoed her previous thoughts. "Yeah. But, it shouldn't be."

She grumbled an affirmative.

After a pause he continued, his voice still uncomfortable and now slightly raspy too. "So…did you want to…continue?"

She blinked, freezing. She was surprised for several reasons. One, she never expected to be asked if she wanted to continue, and essentially asked if she wanted to orgasm. Two, she didn't think he would even want to continue after finishing, weren't guys supposed to be done after that? And three, she realized he must be able to smell her arousal, which wasn't surprising, but was still slightly shocking and embarrassing.

She didn't know what to tell him really. Yes, she was still aroused, though not as much as before, so her body was saying 'yes', but at the same time she was pretty sure she wasn't ready for that yet. And now that she had regained her thinking facilities, she would be much too shy to do anything that would result in her cumming.

"Uh, no. That's okay." She squeaked.

His discomfort seemed to ease somewhat and he snickered. "That's the highest I've ever heard your voice."

She cleared her throat and grumbled, "Well, I was surprised by … that. I didn't even think guys were capable of continuing after … eh, finishing."

"Maybe humans." He responded, making her freeze once again.

If he was implying that demons had stronger stamina, which really only made sense when she thought about it, then she was in for trouble when they actually did it. Would she be able to keep up?

He huffed another laugh as he felt her tense up and then wrapped her more firmly in his arms, snuggling close.

They fell asleep curled up together.


	21. Chapter 21

The next morning, Kagome woke up feeling rather warm. Too warm really, given the chill in her nose. Her face was cold but the rest of her was almost sweating. It took her a few minutes to realize that she was wrapped in Inuyasha's arms and snuggled against him so tightly that his abnormal demon body heat had made her toasty.

She blearily opened her eyes and craned her neck to look over her shoulder at him. He was asleep still, but his ears were twitching and rotating in the manner that they had when he was close to waking up. She had noted that when he was asleep his ears continued to move, almost as if they stayed alert to the situation, ready to wake him if something bad happened. They tended to grow more active right before he fully woke up and would quiver in an adorable manner.

She grinned as she watched them twitch and wiggle on his head, wishing she was in a position to touch them and feel the fluffy appendages quiver. She really did have an abnormal amount of interest in his ears she mused quietly as she watched them and waited for his mouth to open in a jaw cracking yawn. Sure enough a few seconds later he yawned, the tip of his tongue curling like a dog. Then his bleary golden eyes cracked open and looked around for a second before focusing on her, the sheen immediately getting brighter as he took note of her.

She smiled. "Good morning."

"Morning…is it still raining?" he asked, his voice all gruff and scratchy from sleep.

She shivered at his gravely tone, finding it rather sexy in a weird way. "Uh…I don't think so. Was it still raining last night when you…er…" She blushed, finding it more difficult to ask about his cleaning up after their activities in the morning light.

He blinked at her for a moment as he obviously searched his memory banks for reference of what she was talking about. It was instantly obvious when he figured it out though because a small smirky grin popped up on his mouth. Kagome preemptively scowled, knowing he was about to tease her for being shy from his mischievous expression.

"Yeah. It was still raining a bit. Hope my shirt's dry by now…"

To her surprise he didn't take the opportunity to tease her, and she blinked a bit in shock.

Then his grin widened a smidge. "So…is it just cause it's daytime, or does your modesty take a full night to recover?"

She huffed, not dignifying that with a response and instead worked to free them from their snuggly cage that was her sleeping bag. It was rather difficult, given the tight quarters, to get her hand up enough to grab the zipper, and it required a bit of squirming and scooting down on her part. She unintentionally elbowed him in the gut and he oofed, then grabbed her arm, stilling her with a decent amount of pressure.

"Damn it woman, what the fuck are you doin?" He grumbled in her ear, sounding slightly grumpy but not really pissed. If anything he sounded amused.

"I'm trying to get this sleeping bag open."

He huffed a laugh as she started up again with it, and then he locked his arm around her, stilling her once more. "And does that really mean you gotta grind your ass against me? It's getting distracting and more difficult to convince myself we gotta get up."

She froze and swallowed rather hard, her breath picking up and her cheeks flushing hot as she realized that yes, she had been wiggling her behind accidentally against a rather stiff part of him that she had somehow overlooked. "OH…uh…s-sorry, it's just tough to get my hands up high enough to reach the zipper."

"Heh," he huffed, and then his arm that was wrapped around her slid up and he found the tag easily from his position, pulling the zipper down.

"Thanks…" she mumbled, still embarrassed, and hustled out of the sleeping bag, eager to get away from him and his morning wood.

It wasn't as if she should really get all shy about it, she _had_ had a much more intimate encounter with that part of him last night, but it was still a shocker to think of Inuyasha with an erection. Kagome couldn't help but flush and avoid making eye contact as she busied herself with grabbing a few granola bars out of her bag and putting away her sleeping bag after he had vacated it. They left the bulky items in the cave to be found and retrieved later and went off to search for Sango and Miroku as soon as they had both taken care of morning business and eaten very quick breakfasts.

Their first order of business though, was to go and check on Shippō, who had stayed behind yesterday with Kikyo. It was perhaps a bit odd, but given just how weak Kikyo had been, they had all thought it prudent to send the fox kit back to check on her, while they continued up the mountain. The second reason for this, was that the young demon simply hadn't been able to handle the increasingly tough barriers, and so sending him back with a mission helped to ease the bruise to his ego.

Kilala had also accompanied Shippō, mainly as protection against anything that might happen, since Shippō was not exactly a powerhouse when it came to fighting. However, now, with the others gone who-knows-where, both Kagome and Inuyasha determined that rejoining the fox kit and demon-cat would be the best course of action.

With how odd everything seemed to be going, it seemed best to not split up as much as possible. So, they traveled a short ways back down the mountain, easily finding Shippō and Kilala with Inuyasha's sharp nose, and collected the young demon and cat. Kikyo seemed to be doing slightly better than the last time they saw her, which was most likely due to the rather sharp dip in the barriers surrounding the mountain.

All of them had felt it, how the barriers had weakened rather drastically sometime after Inuyasha and Kagome had set off in pursuit of Shippō. On the one hand this was good news, because it meant that Shippō and Kilala would be able to join them in finding the others without so much discomfort. It was also good news for Inuyasha, and to a lesser extent, Kagome. However, on the other hand, it also didn't necessarily bode well that such a change had occurred after Miroku and Sango had gone into the mountain.

With that thought in mind, all four of them set off quickly back up the mountain, to try and find their missing comrades.

Naturally, given their typical luck, it wasn't long before bad things happened.

Kagome and Inuyasha got separated when they tried to force their way through the weakened barrier, due to Inuyasha being blasted to kingdom come upon passing through. Following her 'Inuyasha detector sense' Kagome pursued him at top speed, leading her right into a cave, which was unsurprisingly full of demons, traps, and just plain unpleasantness that had Naraku written all over it. Shortly after entering the cave, Kilala was caught and strangely absorbed into the floor, as if in a puddle of quicksand, much to Kagome's absolute horror, but despite everything she tried, she simply was unable to save the loyal demon-cat from sinking out of sight. Sango and Miroku continued to be AWOL, and Kagome and Shippō were left to wander the halls full of terrors of every shape and size, while trying to find the others and also stay alive at the same time.

And then to top it all off, Naraku made a not-so-surprising appearance.

By the time Naraku showed his ugly face, Kagome had finally found Inuyasha and the others, in a large cavern full of nasty green vines that had trapped her seemingly comatose boyfriend. She honestly didn't have a clue as to what had happened, or why Inuyasha seemed to be passed out, or how Kilala had found Miroku and Sango, but at the very least they all seemed to be together once again. Sango and Miroku were riding Kilala, dodging various blasts from Naraku, who was floating in the middle of the room, taunting and snarking at everyone and looking rather fancy with all new armor.

As soon as the others noticed her, they launched into action, all of them focused on freeing Inuyasha. Sango, Miroku, and Kilala set about attacking Naraku, trying to distract him from Inuyasha, who was still securely wrapped up in vines, and still hadn't woken up.

While the others were busy running around avoiding Naraku's attacks, Kagome made her way over to Inuyasha, Shippō carrying her on his big pink balloon animal self.

"Inuyasha! Wake up! Inuyasha!" She whispered urgently, shaking his shoulder as much as she could with him restrained as tightly as he was.

It didn't work and soon Naraku saw what they were up to and sent a bolt of pure evil energy flying at them. Despite Shippō's speedy dodging, they didn't quite make it out of the way in time and the two of them were sent flying. They hit the wall, Shippō popping back into his normal form, and then they both plummeted to a lucky rock ledge a short distance lower down the wall.

Kagome groaned, her body sore from the harsh impact and doubly sore from the harsh landing. She looked up just in time to see another ball of bad energy heading their way. With a hiss and a shot of terror that struck her numb, she whipped her bow off her shoulder and swung it like a baseball bat, just in time to intercept the nasty blast of badness.

It deflected to the rock wall around them, which was good because it didn't blow them to bits, but was bad because instead it blew the wall to bits, and the ledge came free. With a shriek, Kagome scrambled back, barely managing to catch herself on the tiny bit of rock left protruding from the wall. She hung there from her fingertips, Shippō clinging to her shirt.

"Kagome! Shippō!" Both Sango and Miroku bellowed from atop Kilala, and they attempted to make their way over to save their two dangling comrades.

They were deflected by vines whipping up and slapping at them from the walls and from the huge vine mass in the center of the chamber.

Kagome clenched her teeth and clung to the wall, her fingers cramping up and her nails breaking against the rough stone, but she paid no heed to the pain. Unfortunately, she was helpless to prevent her fingers from cramping to the point of becoming useless, and after a long minute her fingers slipped, leaving a smear of blood behind to mark the spot she had been dangling from. As she fell, she screamed out Inuyasha's name from pure instinct, not caring that he was currently passed out.

She was utterly terrified, already having seen the mass of bubbling, noxious, Naraku goo that made up the floor. Her lips went numb with horror, she felt her skin draw tight and her fingers clawed at the air, hoping they would come into contact with something she could grab onto. If the fall didn't kill her, she would undoubtedly be dissolved in the strong miasma. She managed to snag her fingertips on a few edges of rock, hanging for a brief second before her now very bloody fingers slipped free, tearing even more skin off her raw appendages. She banged her elbow and then her knee, whacked her forehead against a protruding stone, and only just barely managed to snag said rock in passing. She hung there, managing to hold the rock with her whole hand this time. The fright from the fall didn't leave her though, the rush of pure terror and adrenaline continued to surge through her veins, making her palms sweaty and her muscles shaky, which wasn't conducive to a firm rock climbing grip.

She was so terrified and concentrating on holding herself up that she failed to hear the roar that signaled her boyfriend had been awoken by her screams of terror, and so she yelped in shock when she was grabbed from behind. At first she thought Naraku had gotten ahold of her, but before she could struggle to get free she recognized the strong grip, the slight scratch of claws on the skin of her stomach, and the scent of the one person she trusted most in the world. She immediately relaxed and nearly passed out from sheer relief.

They landed on another ledge lower down and Inuyasha set her on her feet, only releasing her long enough to turn her around and wrap his arms around her. Shippō squeaked, getting out from between them and perching on Kagome's shoulder.

"Kagome! Are you okay?" He whispered urgently, his hands shifting up to cradle her face, his eyes darting over her stark pale features.

She nodded jerkily, stuttering. "Y-yeah, I think so…"

His eyes stalled on the bloody spot on her forehead and he grimaced. "You're bleeding…"

She brought a much bloodier hand up to her forehead to feel, and Inuyasha flinched as he saw her ripped and torn fingers. He grabbed her hands and pressed an urgent and very quick kiss to each palm and then used her hands to pull her behind him, shielding her and Shippō with his body as he turned to face Naraku, a deep snarl rumbling from his chest.

The battle commenced even more intensely than before, especially when Inuyasha's Wind Scar rebounded on them after hitting Naraku's shield, the Tessaiga's attack bouncing around the cave seemingly endlessly. Kagome, Shippō, and Inuyasha ended up huddled crouched against the cave wall, him holding Tessaiga out in front to block the shards of yellow light that kept beating down on them.

"Sh-shit…" Inuyasha grunted as he fended off yet another rebound.

The wall around them was crumbling, and Miroku and Sango were hard-pressed to dodge all the attacks bouncing around the cave.

Thinking fast, Kagome made a split-second decision and waited until after a wave of the light had passed before standing up behind Inuyasha, which he protested with a sputtered, "For fuck's sake get back behind me, Kagome!"

She notched an arrow and pulled her bow to full capacity muttering, "Hold them off Inuyasha, I'm gonna try and purify his barrier…"

Inuyasha got with the program really quickly, and stood from his crouch, batting away a last blade of light before Kagome locked onto her target and let her arrow fly, packing it with as much spiritual power as possible. Her arrow hit the barrier with a shower of sparks and the glowing orb around Naraku cracked and then shattered.

Without the barrier to bounce and multiply off of, the Wind Scar fizzled out.

"You did it Kagome!" Shippō said, bouncing on her shoulder a little and patting her head with his tiny hands in excitement.

She grinned weakly, wiping nervous sweat from her bloody brow.

As Naraku started up with another round of attacks, Kagome and Inuyasha met eyes, an unspoken plan forming between them. With a firm nod Kagome mounted his back, holding tight with her legs and he set off, leaping from writhing vine to writhing vine, even jumping off enormous rocks that were falling from the swiftly caving in ceiling. The mountain could only take so much abuse, and it was starting to reach its limit.

Shippō squeaked and snuck behind her neck to grab on tight.

Once they were in range, Inuyasha released her legs, leaving her to hold on with just her thigh muscles. He wielded his Tessaiga, yelling "Wind Scar!" as he sent a spiral of deadly light towards Naraku.

Naraku just laughed loudly, "Have you learned nothing, Inuyasha?!"

His barrier came up, but his smug face quickly twisted into one of disbelief and irritation as Kagome's hidden arrow shot out from the eye of the mass of light and energy. Her arrow hit the barrier, breaking it and making a path for the Wind Scar to plow a destructive track right over Naraku's snarling face.

With a yell he was torn apart.

What was left of him shot upwards, making for a quickly crumbling hole in the very tip of the mountain. He managed to escape, busting a much larger opening in the ceiling and summarily cracking the mountain in such a way that it began to quickly crumble around them.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Inuyasha bellowed and took off after him in hot pursuit.

Kilala and the others followed close behind and all of them burst out of the roof of the mountain as the entire mass of rock came crumbling down. They landed at the edge of a steep canyon next to the mountain, and then they all stopped and stared, not expecting to see Naraku battling someone else now.

Naraku and Kikyo, of all people, were duking it out on the lip of the canyon.

"Kikyo…?" Kagome sputtered, shocked as she watched the other woman shoot blazing arrows at Naraku, holding her own against the fully regenerated demon.

And Kikyo wasn't the only surprise guest to this fight, a flash of long white hair and yellow streaks from long claws confirmed that Sesshomaru had also joined the battle for some unknown reason.

After getting over their temporary shock, the rest of them joined the fray and soon arrows, claws, boomerangs, swords, and fur were flying. Kikyo and Kagome ended up standing in the vicinity of each other while Inuyasha and Kilala, laden with Sango and Miroku, flew through the air to fight him directly. Sesshomaru also flew through the air, slashing at Naraku with his claws and his fancy dragon sword, while Shippō mostly stayed out of the way. Kikyo and Kagome kept up a constant volley of arrows, peppering Naraku and continuously breaking his shield to let the other's attacks get through.

After a little while of that, Naraku turned towards the two women on the ground, temporarily ignoring the other five pestering him to send a powerful blast of dark energy towards the two priestesses. Kagome yelped when she saw the wave of power coming their way, and the others yelled in horror and rage as it connected.

Kikyo and Kagome both raised their bows to block the fierce attack. The ground around them broke apart and sent them tumbling into the canyon headfirst.

Kagome lost sight of Kikyo pretty quickly amongst the falling rocks and debris, and it was all she could do to keep herself from being buried. Working on instinct, she yanked off her fang necklace, grabbing the dagger by the handle and wielding it to cut through the rocks that threatened to crush her as she half slid, half fell down the steep incline of the canyon wall. With the limited access to her demon powers, she was able to maneuver and dodge much easier and she ducked and weaved between the falling boulders, using every ounce of training Inuyasha had given her to stay alive within the avalanche.

By leaping off the boulders as they came she was able to descend in relatively one piece, crashing to the ground atop a large chunk of the canyon wall. She let the rock beneath her take most of the impact and then propelled herself off, landing in a skidding roll that ended up with her sliding across the ground on her side, bruised, bloodied, but not broken.

She would have just laid there for a good while recovering, except she had to scramble to dodge the rest of the rubble falling on top of her now. Seeing a depression low in the canyon wall, she heaved herself to her hands and knees and crawled at hyper speed, throwing herself to lay flush against the wall under the little ledge for protection - and not a moment too soon. A large, sharp chunk came crashing down where she had been laying only moments before.

She squeezed in as tight as she could, pressing her back to the rough rock behind her and holding both her bow and blade at the ready to deflect any debris brave enough to try and bounce inside her little safe spot. She only had to bat away a few loose rocks before the avalanche slowed and finally came to a rolling, grinding halt.

Once she was sure that it was over with she looped her fang necklace back over her neck to make sure she didn't lose it, and dug her way out, kicking rocks aside as she pushed out of the nearly buried crevasse she had wedged herself into. As she emerged she looked around to see a space mostly clear of rubble, one where a glowing blue shield radiated light. She scrambled to her feet and made her uneven, and slightly ungraceful way over to where she knew Kikyo must have landed.

"KAGOME!"

She flinched at the bellowed word, glancing up to give Inuyasha a reassuring smile and yelled back, "I'm fine! Focus on your battle!"

He hesitated, looking like he was about to come running the short distance to her, but he was still fully caught up in the battle, and it became clear why he wasn't able to assist her as he dodged attack after attack, barely managing to do so in his distracted state. Once he was sure she was alright, he launched himself back up into the fray, having descended a good ways into the canyon to look for her it seemed.

She continued on towards Kikyo, whose shield had snuffed out by now. She crawled over a heap of boulders just in time to see Kikyo keel over from her kneeling position, plopping onto her side, either passed out or utterly exhausted.

Kagome was in the process of trying to heave herself over the obstacle course made up of sharp and pointy rocks and bits of the canyon wall that had showered down with them, when she heard everyone above yell a variant of, "Watch out! Kikyo! Kagome!"

She jerked and looked up, only to freeze in horror.

Naraku was aiming at Kikyo.

Kagome felt a burst of terror and immediately launched herself to assist the other woman, never mind the fact that they had once been rivals. As she leaped over the barrier of rocks and slid on her knees next to the downed priestess, Kikyo turned her head and looked at Kagome with deep black eyes, eyes that showed how much she truly cared…not necessarily for Kagome, though she didn't show any hatred either. But it was obvious that the other woman was full of emotion, no matter how cold she had acted. And her sudden relaxed guard could only mean one thing…she knew she was about to die.

She reached a hand out, and Kagome took it without any thought otherwise. The other priestess pulled her closer and then pushed her own red bow into Kagome's hands.

"Take this, combine it with your own and it will make a formidable weapon."

"Kikyo…"

"Shoot, Kagome. Shoot an arrow right at his heart….use this." She handed over her last jewel shard, glowing with her power.

Kagome could feel the approaching tidal wave of power coming at them and heard the cries of her friends, Inuyasha's yell being the loudest of all.

Without questioning anything, Kagome took the jewel shard, and Kikyo helped her to stick it between their two bows, both their hands holding the bows together. Strangely, amazingly the two bows melted together somehow, growing unbearably hot in her hands. It vibrated, and Kikyo's hands clenched as did hers to hold it together as the two pieces of wood fused into one. Kagome cut one of the strings, pulling it off as they fused so there was only one string on the finished bow that thrummed and glowed with spiritual power. Kikyo's hands and the jewel shard dropped from the amazing weapon and Kagome met her eyes, shocked and awed by what they had made together. Kikyo nodded and then flicked her eyes above them, warning Kagome of the approaching danger. Kagome nodded back and pulled herself together, stuck the jewel shard the bow had spat back out on an arrow that Kikyo handed her, and turned to meet the fast approaching death.

Right as the power reached them, she raised the two-bows-turned-one, the brighter red of Kikyo's bow now adorned with the golden rings of Kagome's, and it glowed with the combined priestesses' power. A purplish blue barrier rose and blocked the attack of power, the blast falling to either side and leaving a deep crater around them, wayward strands carving trenches into the walls of the canyon.

She notched the bow, still keeping it raised and the shield in place as the attack continued. Without dropping the barrier, she pulled the string back, the last jewel shard in their world glowing at the tip of her arrow, pure and bright with Kikyo's life power. She could feel spiritual power flooding her, and felt Kikyo wilting next to her. She didn't have much time, and so she aimed. Her arrow shot through the next attack, blasting it away in a wave of her own power.

The arrow flew straight and true, piercing his barrier and hitting him in the center of his chest. He screamed as the second to last jewel shard pierced his body and melded with the rest, the purity of it making his defiled jewel spark and clear.

He writhed in midair, screaming, and then the jewel flickered back to black, though there was still a spark of purity within it that was sure to be causing him pain. Undoubtedly that would be the way to end him. She only needed to put another purifying arrow inside his chest, strait into that jewel, and he would be done for, and he knew it too. His eyes turned to her, glaring down, and she could see a spark of fear within those terrifying red depths.

With a godawful yell he sent a blast of malice and power back at her, and she only just raised her bow in time to block it. She cried out as it cracked her barrier, the blast so much stronger this time. Inuyasha was shouting, and she heard the sounds of a battle going on over head, the sound of his Tessaiga clanging against Naraku's armor obvious. And then she heard a whistling sound and saw the sword falling toward her, point first. Inuyasha's sword somehow slipped through her barrier as if it was made of butter, and she barely had time to try and throw herself out of its way. She wasn't entirely successful and the still large sword sliced into her shoulder as she threw her arm up to shield her face. It hit her shoulder and then her hip, cutting both deeper than she wanted. Not that she wanted to be cut at all. She cried out, the pain searing her nerves as the sharp metal sliced through nerves and tissue, thankfully not severing any muscles or tendons that were important to her movement.

As the sword clattered away, it changed back into the smaller rusty blade and she stared at it bleary eyed, before looking back up to see Inuyasha looking down with a horrified expression. That expression twisted into one of rage as Naraku took advantage of Kagome's broken barrier to send another blast her way. She cried out and threw herself sideways over Kikyo's prone form. The other woman was barely breathing, if at all, and Kagome raised her bow to try and block the blast, though she knew it was almost surely useless this time. She closed her eyes tight, wincing and bracing herself. The blast hit and surprisingly her shield held, at least for a short time. She could hear Inuyasha yelling again, but this time it sounded fiercer, and as cracks appeared in her shield she heard it turn into a roar.

Her eyes slid to Tessaiga, which obviously was not in his hands at the moment. His voice was absolutely undoubtedly the one of a demon. He had shifted, and as she looked up she could see him, faster than she could really track, attacking Naraku with everything he had. Sango and Miroku had already weakened him, and with Kagome's arrow and Kikyo's shard he was more vulnerable now than ever before.

Kagome took the opportunity to drag Kikyo into a shallow cave nearby, protecting her. Once she was safe she took up her bow and arrow and went back into the floor of the canyon. Right in time to have to dodge Inuyasha as he fell to the ground, nearly taking her and the rest of the canyon floor out with him. She had to throw herself to avoid him, and grunted as her injured shoulder hit the rocky floor, leaving a smear across the stones. He landed on his feet, creating a crater in the canyon floor. At her pained grunt and probably the scent of her blood his head whipped around and he stared at her with eerie red eyes.

She sat up, staring into his eyes, and a little bit afraid of him as he turned towards her, almost stalking closer to her. As the others continued their attacks on Naraku, Inuyasha approached Kagome, his red and teal eyes flicking over her form, lingering on the blood painting her shoulder and hip.

There was a pause, Kagome's attention taken up completely by him at the moment, the battle above them fading away slightly from her focus.

And then, before she knew what had happened, he was right there in front of her, and she froze, her eyes clenched tightly closed as she tensed up. She could feel his breath on her face, her heartbeat drowning out the sounds of battle from above. His face buried itself in her bloody shoulder, his hot breath blowing across her wound, and she flinched but held perfectly still.

The sensation of his tongue poking through her torn shirt wasn't entirely unexpected, but what did surprise her was the way he then froze a moment later. He slowly pulled back, licking his bloody lips, his eyes wide. She stared, unsure, at the golden irises still surrounded by red. She didn't think she had ever seen his eyes this particular combination, only ever seeing them be red and teal.

It became clear that he had mental function back, and was now in control over himself, though it still seemed that his demon blood was pumping strongly in his veins. His shocked expression and the way he looked so concerned over her wounds was a strong indication.

But there was no time for them to figure out what was going on, why he was in control of his demonic transformation, or how he had snapped out of his blood-lust. The battle above grew much too violent to ignore, and Inuyasha turned, assuming a protective stance in front of her, a deep growl rumbling in his chest.

"Come on Kagome." He rumbled, his voice still deep and raspy like when he was in demon form, and he gestured for her to get on his back.

Still a bit nervous, she approached and clambered on, wincing as her thigh and shoulder protested. He scooped up the Tessaiga, and off they went, joining the battle alongside everyone else. It didn't last too much longer. Amongst the six of them, even Naraku was having problems, and it seemed that the little shard of purity in the jewel embedded in his chest continued to pain and prevent him from fighting at full power. It was only a matter of time before they were all able to land consecutive hits, blowing his body to bits and pieces, and driving him off with his tail between his legs.

He escaped in a cloud of miasma, and they would have pursued him, except that Naraku was a master of disappearing. Even if they could have, there was still the matter of Kikyo to consider, and they were forced to give up the notion of pursuit, in exchange for hurrying to try and save the priestess.

They rushed to help Kikyo, who was hanging onto life by a thread. Miroku and Sango rode Kilala down into the canyon and gently loaded her on board, then Miroku jumped off, leaving Sango to hold Kikyo and Kagome joined the two women instead, helping to hold Kikyo and not really up to walking as of yet. Meanwhile, Shippō puffed up and carried Miroku and the back-to-normal Inuyasha. Once afloat they all set off for a grassy area a little ways from the canyon, where they could all relax and recover more comfortably.

Once they had landed, Inuyasha requested to be alone with Kikyo, a request which they all understood and respected. Kagome, Shippō, Sango, Kilala, and Miroku all retreated up a grassy knoll, far enough away from the couple who possessed so much history. They were at a distance where they could not hear words being spoken, though soon they could see Kikyo stirring and apparently awaken.

No one was under any misconception that Kikyo would survive this one, she had sustained fatal injuries and had lost her jewel shard, which undoubtedly had also been helping to keep her alive. Kagome could clearly feel her spiritual energy slowly fading away, Kikyo's signature getting softer and softer by the minute.

So this alone time was for the two of them to say their final goodbyes.

It was painfully obvious that she still loved him, and undoubtedly he still cared for her – after all, she had been his first love. He held her in his lap and they spoke in soft whispers to each other, the moment too intimate for any of the others to look at for more than a few seconds at a time.

Kagome wasn't upset by it, not even when she saw Kikyo reach up and pressed her lips to Inuyasha's one last time. He didn't participate in the farewell kiss, but he permitted it, and a single tear tracked its way down his cheek as she let her hand and head fall back into his lap. Kagome's heart ached, for both of them.

After a long moment Kikyo smiled, seeming to finally have reached a peaceful end, and then began to glow. Her whole body dissolved into glowing light, light that spun around Inuyasha and then traveled to the others and circled them, before rising up into the twilight. The remnants of the true, unpolluted warmth and caring of her spirit left all of them feeling calmed and peaceful, even as they all felt sorrow at her departure. None of them had known her very well at all, yet as they watched her glowing essence make its last graceful dance through the air, they could all feel Inuyasha's keen grief, and their own sadness at seeing the passing of someone who they had all, in the end, considered a comrade.

There was silence from them all as the last blush of the fading sun kissed her as she faded into the stars peeking through the still light sky.

* * *

Author's Note:

Sorry for the delay in update time. I know I'm off my normal schedule, but I'll try to get back on it as soon as possible. :3

I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Everything is starting to come together. ;)

A big round of thanks to all my wonderful reviewers out there. You guys are beyond awesome!


	22. Chapter 22

In the weeks after Kikyo passed, things were a bit more solemn, and they set about seriously trying to find that reclusive last jewel shard. But no matter what they did, they had no luck finding it. It just seemed to have vanished…poof…gone, without a trace.

Naturally the failure frustrated them all, but that frustration motivated them to do what they _could_ do, and that was train and try to get stronger at least for the upcoming final battle with Naraku that they all knew was approaching. They made some good progress in that aspect, although ironically, it seemed that the largest power boosts for most of them came in unintentional happenstance ways. And even more ironically, it seemed some of those power boosts came from Naraku's interfering with them in one way or another.

The first thing that came up was another opportunity to increase the power of Inuyasha's sword, an opportunity he leapt at.

Inuyasha possessed the only weapon amongst them that could gain special powers through defeating certain enemies and/or weapons, and of course he went out of his way to search for those foes as part of his preparation for the upcoming battle. He had already been able to absorb the power of that barrier breaking coral thing by defeating the bat demons a while back, and so they were all familiar with the process. In this case, he just had to defeat an uber powerful sword known as Dakki that could absorb and steal the demonic energies from other weapons and enemies.

It was a rather furious and risky battle, since Dakki stole nearly all of Tessaiga's power before Inuyasha managed to defeat the wielder, but in the end he triumphed and emerged with a dragon scale Tessaiga that could absorb demonic power. The only problem with that was that Inuyasha could only take so much of it before it started hurting him, and so they set off to figure out how he could wield it without getting himself hurt. They took a little trip to see Totosai, who advised some training.

Inuyasha underwent the training, with much protestation and grumbling, but in the end he learned the true power of his dragon scale Tessaiga, that it could not only absorb the power, but could also reflect it, or build it up and then release it back at the enemy. He could also use its power sensing ability to find a demon's vortex, that is, the spot on their body where they harbored their life force. This was a useful ability, since some demons kept their vortex, or heart, separate from their body, like Naraku.

The next person to get a power boost was Kagome. Her new bow, the one that had been Kikyo's and hers combined, was extremely powerful and she couldn't use it to its full potential. And so, when they heard of a very powerful priestess in an upcoming town, the took a detour to see if she might have any advice on how Kagome could master her new bow.

The little venture turned into a much larger endeavor, as they quickly found that the priestess had been killed and her soul ensnared by Naraku to be used as an undead corpse, for reasons unknown. They could only assume he had been hoping to use her to try and locate the last jewel shard, but instead Kagome ended up entangled in the insidious plot.

Trapped, alone inside a barrier that even the Tessaiga couldn't break, she was forced to battle this other priestess.

In the process, she learned of an ability she never knew she possessed, the ability to shoot through something, her arrow just disappearing in front of it and then reappearing on the other side, always finding its target. In that manner she was able to shoot through the priestess without harming her, while her arrow unfailingly speared strait into Naraku's curse, freeing them both.

By the time she was allowed to leave the little pocket of disassociated space and time she had been trapped in, Inuyasha was well and truly having an absolute fit. The barrier holding him back was at the bottom of the endless staircase Kagome had ascended to get to the temple, but even from the uppermost step she could hear him fussing at the top of his lungs, alternating between cussing at the barrier, the priestess, Naraku, the world in general, and yelling for her.

So, she hustled down the stairs at top speed, attempting to not trip and tumble down them. Falling down them might be the fastest route, but it certainly wouldn't be the most comfortable or good for her health. Of course, Kagome, being Kagome, had two left feet, and around the middle of the staircase she hung her foot on nothing and proceeded to cartwheel down the rest. She put up a barrier to help her not crack her skull open as she tumbled head over heels down the stairs.

"Kagome!" She heard Inuyasha yell, over the sound of the earth spinning around her. "Oh shit!"

Apparently, the barrier at the bottom of the stairs didn't keep things in, because she fell right through without any of her momentum slowed, and plowed right into Inuyasha, who stumbled back a few steps before toppling over entirely, her sudden appearance apparently having taken him by surprise. It probably didn't help that she had come at him upside down and feet first.

"Oof…ow. Sorry, Inuyasha." She groaned, staying put with her eyes closed for a minute to orient herself. All that spinning and tumbling had made her a smidge bit dizzy.

However, staying still turned out to not be the smartest idea, but since her eyes were closed she didn't know what position they had ended up in.

The first clue was Miroku's exceptionally lecherous snickering, and the sound of Sango choking. The second clue was the sensation of warm breath…on her inner thighs and private bits. The third and final clue was when something stiffened a little bit under her cheek, a something that felt a whole lot like a dick.

These things all happened nearly simultaneously, and shocked poor Kagome so much that she sat up abruptly with a squeak without thinking about it. That only made things much worse, as she felt the distinct shape of a mouth, chin, and nose press into her, right between her legs. Inuyasha made some sort of shocked sound and his hands immediately snapped up to grab her hips and lift her up to prevent her full weight from breaking his nose. He needn't have bothered, because the hold only made it more awkward when she threw herself back, immediately realizing her mistake. His claws left long scratches on her hips, and he very nearly yanked her skirt off when the sharp tips got hung in the fabric. Thankfully it only ripped, leaving it hanging half-off her behind, with long tears on the sides.

She yelped and yanked it back into place, but there wasn't really anything she could do about the tears. She'd just have to wear it like that until they got back to where they had left her bag and her clothes.

By this point her face was as red as it could possibly be, and she was panting from shock, exertion, adrenaline, and embarrassment, along with some accidental excitement. Inuyasha stayed flat on his back for a moment, his ears slicked back from shock, and she stared wide-eyed at the top of his white head, beyond belief that that had just happened.

Sango busted out laughing, looking down at his face. When he glared up at her, she sputtered, "S-sorry, but your face…" and she dissolved into more laughter.

He sat up and turned around, his eyes giving her a surly look, but his face was still mostly frozen into an expression of shock. His eyes were wide and his ears were crooked on his head, while all his skin had turned bright red, nearly matching his haori. As the others continued to laugh, his expression slowly melted into one of irritation, though his face remained hot, and his ears and eyebrows twitched spastically.

"Would you shut it?!" He finally spat, glaring at them.

They quieted their laughter, though there were still some quiet snickers to be heard from behind their hands. Poor Shippō seemed a little confused, probably from their embarrassment, but he was still highly amused by her landing on his face, though he didn't know what it meant.

After an exasperated, huff from Inuyasha, he turned to look at Kagome who was still sitting there, blushing and embarrassed, but also kind of amused now, able to see the humor in it all. His eyes immediately trained on the long gashes in her skirt that exposed the sides of her pink panties and her uppermost thighs and the skin of her hips. He scowled and immediately slipped off his fire rat robe, tossing it at her. "Here, tie this around your waist."

She nodded and sat up on her knees to wrap it around her hips, tying the sleeves over it to keep it in place. It was even longer than her skirt and covered her from hip to below her knees. After what had just happened, she was glad for the extra coverage.

"Thanks, Inuyasha."

He huffed again and stood, grabbing her hand and yanking her to her feet too. Embarrassment had made him rough, and as they left the area he remained quiet, sulking.

He remained in a foul mood the rest of the day, and the others figured it was simply him feeling embarrassed or awkward.

However, they were wrong. Inuyasha was irritated because of something entirely different, something that he was definitely not going to share with anybody else.

The worst part of it for him, was that even after the incident, he continued to smell her for hours. Her scent and pheromones had rubbed off on his nose and muzzle, and though someone with a lesser sense of smell wouldn't be able to detect it, he certainly could, and it was making thinking very difficult. He found himself having to focus on his feet so he wouldn't trip, that was how distracted it made him. It also meant he had to constantly readjust his hakama, his semi-hard on determined to stick around and make life difficult for him. So by the time they bunked down for the night he was beyond ready to go off on his own and relieve himself in the woods.

Things were a little awkward for a day or so afterwards, and so they were all pleased to get a new lead. It probably wouldn't end up helping them find the jewel shard, but at the very least it was something to do. They had heard news of a humongous skeleton demon, in a village several days away, and so they set off for it. This was all they could do at the moment, hunt demons until new information about the jewel shard showed up.

Inuyasha was strangely quiet, and eventually Kagome asked him what was up. They were walking side by side, and she snagged his sleeve with her fingers, slowing him down until they were a little ways back from the others. He sent her a questioning look, his ears pricked forwards in interest.

"Inuyasha…what's wrong? You've been super quiet ever since we visited that cursed shrine…"

He grimaced and looked away. "It's nothing you've gotta worry about Kagome."

She bristled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means don't fucking worry about it! It's my own problem."

She jerked back, hurt by the abrupt dismissal. She had thought he was starting to trust her enough to confide in her…but she must have been wrong. Gritting her teeth, she released his sleeve and looked away, feeling her eyes pricking with moisture. If he didn't want to share, that was fine. She needed to respect his privacy, but…did he have to be so mean about it?

He must have smelled the tears coming, and she felt him jerk next to her, his whole body flinching. "Kagome! Don't…don't cry! Oh for the love of…Christ, look, I didn't mean it that way; I just don't want you to worry about something you don't have to. Really, everything is fine."

She sniffed, embarrassed at how easily she had gotten all watery. It was ridiculous. "It's fine Inuyasha, I was just surprised. I thought…never mind." She didn't want to get in an argument, or hurt his feelings, or pressure him into talking about whatever was on his mind if he didn't want to.

They proceeded in silence for a while. She could feel Inuyasha glancing at her from time to time, and then eventually with an exasperated grunt he grabbed her hand. Her fingers flinched reflexively and her head whipped around.

"I-Inuyasha? What are you doing?"

His ears were cockeyed, showing he was uncomfortable, and a slight blush dusted his cheeks. "Girls like this shit right? Holding hands and stuff?"

She blinked, wide eyed at him, shocked. What was he…was he trying to make her feel better?

He was, as gruff and uncomfortable as he appeared, he was trying to do something to cheer her up. She felt her heart melt a little, and warmth bloomed in her chest. It wasn't the gesture itself, it was the fact that he was going out of his comfort zone. Showing affection like this was definitely not his thing, especially when they weren't alone.

"What? You got a problem with it?" He asked, his eyes glancing down at her where she was still staring at him, and his ears laid back while his hand started to pull back.

She was quick to lace her fingers with his, squeezing to hold him in place. His eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened as he looked down at their interlocked hands.

"No! I like it, I was just surprised, that's all." She said, smiling up at him.

He looked at her face and then his pinned back ears relaxed as his cheeks pinkened a little more. "Oh…uh…good, I guess."

He turned his head away quickly and refused to look back at her, obviously a little embarrassed.

As for her, she was happy as a kitten, swinging their hands a little as she walked with a bounce in her step. She felt like a proper girl with a boyfriend for once, walking down the road holding hands like this. It was fun, and though it didn't last too long, it put her in a good mood for the rest of the trip to find this skeleton demon thing.

The abrupt mood changes between the mercurial couple were not unnoticed by the others in their little group.

The night before they arrived at their destination with the mysterious skeleton-demon, they set up camp in the woods since there weren't any villages conveniently located on the road at that point. Miroku and Sango stayed up later than the others to talk about the odd couple and their mood changes. One of Miroku and Sango's favorite things to do, when the other two weren't around, was to gossip about them.

Kagome had been unusually happy lately, and right after being so moody. It was kind of odd to say the least, and so it was perfect fodder for discussion. Of course, Kagome and Inuyasha were always a rollercoaster to be around, nice to each other one minute and then yelling the next. That was a big part of the reason Miroku and Sango had so much to gossip about on a daily basis as they theorized what had happened this time.

"Kagome's been extra mood swingy lately don't you think?" Sango asked Miroku as they watched the priestess sleeping across the fire from them.

"Indeed. Maybe she's pregnant." Miroku responded quietly, and then snickered when Sango whapped him on the arm.

"Miroku! Come on…don't say things like that!" She flushed.

He sent her a slightly mischievous look out of his black eyes. "What? They're a couple now, it's not out of the question."

Sango flushed deeper. "I doubt they've…done that…"

He cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? And what makes you think so?"

After a moment of thought she came up with, "Well they were obviously very embarrassed about what happened at the shrine and how she landed on him. If they were…intimate with each other, then I doubt they would have reacted so strongly."

"Perhaps. But the embarrassment might have been because it was a public accident and we were all witness to it. Also, just because they aren't comfortable with that particular activity, doesn't mean that they haven't consummated the relationship."

Sango flushed, a little flustered with the way the conversation was going. "W-well, I mean…they're always around us, when would they have the time?"

Once again, Miroku contradicted her argument. "They aren't always around us. They do go to Kagome's time period occasionally."

"But…oh come on, Miroku! Once they did _that_ it would be hard for them to have to wait so long in between having time alone right? If they were doing it over there they would go over there a lot more."

He blinked, his eyes opening a little wider and then narrowed, glittering at her in a way that made her distinctly uncomfortable. "Interesting…I never would have thought you would think that way. So you're under the impression that a couple should have regular copulation?"

Poor Sango was left with her mouth flapping in the wind, never having expected something like that to come out of his mouth, even given his lecherous nature. It was such a pointed question…and he was staring at her so intently it made her incredibly uncomfortable. Flustered, she didn't know what to say.

Yes, they had done a few things. They had indulged in some kissing and had embraced each other for long periods of time as they did so. But that was all they had really done. There hadn't been any inappropriate touching, since she would smack him if he tried touching her on her breasts or behind, and in those situations he had quickly learned not to provoke her, because she would call an end to the kissing if he did. And so this conversation was making her exceptionally uncomfortable, embarrassed, and flustered.

Miroku, meanwhile, was having the time of his life, never having expected to have such a perfect opportunity to both tease Sango and actually make some progress with her potentially. He certainly wasn't expecting that he could convince her to lay with him, but perhaps he could convince her to at least do some things beyond kissing. He was willing to wait for her. After all, despite still having trouble controlling his naturally flirtatious nature, he had absolutely refused to sleep with a woman in…he couldn't even remember how long it had been now. He hadn't even kissed any of them, or touched them in an inappropriate way. He desperately wanted to be able to at least kiss Sango more passionately and maybe touch her just a little more, but even that was doubtful with her. She was so chaste he suspected he would have to wait until they actually wedded to get anywhere further with her … and even then she might accidentally hit him out of habit.

While Miroku was pondering his desires, Sango still hadn't figured out what to say, so she just cleared her throat and looked away. "Uh…w-well anyways, I don't think Kagome's pregnant. So there has to be some other reason."

"Maybe she's sexually frustrated, that can make a person very moody."

She jerked, and dared to glance at him out of the corner of her eye, noting the nearly hungry expression on his face. Just glimpsing it out of the corner of her eye had her flushing hot all over and she quickly averted her gaze, not wanting to go there. "Well, she's super happy now, so your theory is lacking."

He shrugged. "Perhaps they finally did it."

"Back to that? Do you have a one track mind?" She asked crossly.

"Certainly not." He said in his most innocent voice. "I have no idea what you're talking about dear Sango."

She couldn't help but snort at the sarcastic sincerity lacing his tone. "Oh yes, you're such a saint Miroku. I can't even imagine you laying a single finger on a maiden inappropriately."

A slight rustle of cloth was her only warning before he had leaned in, his warm breath in her ear as he whispered, "Oh really? Not even on our wedding night?"

She gasped and sat ramrod straight, too shocked to counter the sultry whisper right away.

He used her surprise to his advantage, knowing he only had a few moments before she would retaliate.

"You can't tell me you haven't thought about it…us…together…"

Sure enough, as soon as she gathered her wits her hand came swinging around, and he leaned back with the hit, lessening the sting to his cheek by going with the momentum, well-practiced in the art of it by now.

He sat back, rubbing the red hand print and carefully observed her face, seeing that it was bright red. That was expected. After all, she was a virgin and was extremely easily embarrassed, though the embarrassment came out as anger in most cases. But he couldn't help but smirk as he took in the other signs that said he had gotten to her. Her eyes were dilated, her lips parted as she breathed heavier than normal, even for being enraged, and the hand she pulled back from the slap was shaking. He could also see her pulse pounding in her neck.

"Y-you! You can't just say things like that!"

They were interrupted at that point by Inuyasha snapping from across the fire, "Oi! Keep it down you two! We're trying to sleep over here!"

"Hm…? Wha is it Inuyasha?" Kagome asked sleepily.

"Nothin, go back to sleep."

"Kay."

In Kagome's perspective, none of that made sense, which was only natural since she was roused from a deep sleep. All she knew was that she woke to some sort of nonsense going on, and Inuyasha fussing at the others, but she pretty much went right back to sleep.

She had curled up in her sleeping bag, and Inuyasha was sitting next to her, propped up against a nearby tree. When they were alone he had taken to sleeping next to her, but when they were around other people he would sleep sitting up as close as he could get to her sleeping bag, which meant she had taken to putting her sleeping bag near the trees if she could.

So, she easily slipped back into sleep, especially as Inuyasha reached out and patted her lightly on the head to soothe her.

She woke the next morning, still in a good mood, and they were off again, after this bone demon. Sango seemed put out by something, but no matter how Kagome asked, she wouldn't give her a reason, so eventually she gave up and walked next to Inuyasha.

They arrived soon enough, and immediately went into battle mode as they were confronted by a giant weird boney beast of some sort. It seemed to be just composed of bones, and was massive. It put up a very stiff fight, and put them all through their paces. It had a long tail of vertebrae, and managed to send both Kagome and Inuyasha flying with it, tossing them through the wall of the old hut they had found it in. Being thrown through a wall winded Kagome, and Inuyasha hovered over her for a second, until she had regained breathing capabilities. They watched the battle through the open wall, and saw that Miroku had been snatched by one boney, clawed hand, and was being raised to a really nasty looking fanged mouth.

He ate bones, so he spat acid to dissolve the flesh of his victims. Right as he was about to spit acid on Miroku, before either Kagome or Inuyasha could get to them, Sango had thrown the Hiraikotsu, saying, "If you like bones so much, eat this!"

Her weapon was indeed made of demon bone, and he took a bite out of it, dropping Miroku like an unwanted ex-boyfriend, and the monk scrambled back on hands and butt. He was about to open his wind tunnel and put an end to the battle, when the monster suddenly spat out Hiraikotsu, screaming. "You poisoned it! You poisoned it! How dare you?!"

Starting from his mouth, he began to dissolve. All that was left for them to do was to watch his slow demise as he gradually turned into a white, mushy, disgusting puddle of slop.

Sango gingerly picked up her weapon, which was also bubbling and hissing, and she wrapped it carefully with her scarf, looking like she was about to cry. By this point, Inuyasha and Kagome had crawled back through the wall and rejoined them.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Sango…" Kagome said, barely able to imagine how she must feel right now.

"Stop looking so dang sad, just take it to Totosai. He'll fix it right up for you." Inuyasha said, looking uncomfortable.

That was indeed their best bet, and so they set off to find the weapon master. When they found him, he unfortunately couldn't help, but he did point them towards a very powerful sage who might be able to help. And so they set off again, searching for some mysterious valley that this Sage was supposed to inhabit. It was a nice change from their destination being on an actual mountain, but they still had to cross over the mountains to get there. And it was during their traveling through the mountain pass that weird things began to happen.

An odd mist began to fill the pass, which was never a good sign. The last mist had them getting separated and wrapped up in cocoons of nightmares. They huddled in a circle, looking out into the fog to try and see if there was any threat approaching. They all nearly jumped out of their skin when Sango suddenly began to sing…very, very loudly and off-key…accompanied with just as strange off-kilter dancing.

"S-Sango, what are you doing?" Kagome asked, peering at her through oddly blurry eyes. She could feel herself relaxing, and an odd warmth filling her belly. It was nice.

By the time Shippō had joined Sango, turning into her in fact, Kagome wasn't perturbed in the slightest, only giggling and hiccupping, finding it all very funny.

"Cover your mouth! The mist is drugged!" Miroku gasped, pulling his sleeve over his face. Inuyasha also was covering his nose.

He was so cute…covering his face was so silly. Kagome snickered and grabbed his sleeve, then hugged his arm to her, paying no attention to the fact that it was pressing between her breasts while his hand was level with her crotch.

"Ka-Kagome! What are you...?"

"It seems she's also been drugged." Miroku responded, his voice muffled.

Inuyasha sent the monk a glare at the ridiculously evident observation, sarcastically growling, "Really? You don't fucking say?"

Kagome just giggled, snuggling closer.

"You sooooo uptight Mirokuuuu…." Sango sang and danced her way over to him, slinging her arm over his shoulders and laughing.

Kagome joined her in laughing. "I knoooow, right? They're both all tense…look at Inuyasha…" She giggled, as she peered up into his face, his wide golden eyes staring back down at her as his mouth gaped open and his ears slunk to the sides of his head.

Seeing his open mouth she couldn't resist sticking her finger in it, and he sputtered around the intruder, his eyes peeling even more open until she could see white all around the gold. His tongue instantly tried to push her finger out, and she just laughed and started petting his tongue with the tip, stroking it. He sputtered even more and his cheeks flushed hot pink as he jerked back. Her finger hooked under his top teeth to prevent him from pulling away and he growled.

"Kayomeh…" he mumbled sternly around her finger, failing spectacularly in saying her name, and it only made her giggle more. Since her finger was facing up now, she ran it over the roof of his mouth, and he nearly went cross eyed. She knew the roof of her mouth was ticklish, and apparently it was for him too. He growled again and jerked his head to the side, capturing her finger between his fangs and nipping her sharply.

She squeaked and pulled her finger out, promptly popping it in her own mouth to suck off the drop of blood that had risen from his nip.

He licked his lips and scowled down at her.

"That was mean, Inuyasha…" She pouted, and made her eyes big and sad. It worked. He immediately flipped from being angry to apologetic. With a gentle grip on her wrist, he took her finger out of her mouth, and brought her hand up to his mouth instead, licking the small wound on her finger to heal it in apology.

It felt good and the warm fuzzies came back into her stomach. Once he was done she slipped her arm around his neck and pressed against him, nuzzling her face into his neck. She could feel his body freeze against her, and as she pushed her hips into his she could feel something harden ever so slightly and then twitch against her, causing her to grin against his skin. In her normal state of mind, she would have been embarrassed to feel his slight hard on, but at the moment it didn't bother her at all.

He was shaking, and after a moment he said, "Kagome…sit…"

She went to her knees, pulled off him. She pouted up at him. "Oh come on, that wasn't fair…"

He stared down at her, his eyes wild and tight and his jaw clenched. "It was completely fair. Get yourself together Kagome."

She had stopped listening, because now she was eyelevel with his crotch, where she could vaguely see a small bulge in his baggy pants. Intrigued and curious, with no inhibitions, she reached out a hand, intending to poke it.

He must have seen what she was about to do, because he hissed, "Shit!" and reached down to grab her hand before she could make contact.

Once again she found herself pouting up at him. "Oh come on…I just wanted to poke it."

His eyebrows twitched spastically and his ears flicked back and forth a few times, as if trying to make up their mind whether to slick back against his skull or prick towards her in interest.

"Y-you..." He sputtered, his eyes back to being wide and intense and then he closed them and shook his head, frowning. "Miroku! We've gotta get rid of this fucking mist!"

"I know!" The monk yelled back, and Kagome glanced lazily over her shoulder to see that Sango was in the middle of trying to shed her clothes, while Miroku was busy trying to keep them on.

"It's hot!" She protested, whining at the top of her lungs.

As Miroku grabbed her wrists to restrain her she went ballistic, yelling and making a big fuss, kicking at him with her legs and throwing an intense hissy fit. Meanwhile, Shippō hopped up onto his head, undid his fly, and started peeing off of Miroku, laughing and boasting loudly that he could pee further than anyone else in the whole world.

Kagome glanced back up at Inuyasha, who was staring at the scene with one eyebrow spasming like he had a tick, and blank eyes.

"Okay…Never mind." He looked back at her and in one swift move he scooped her up, turned her around so her back was to his front and wrapped a tight arm around her, trapping her wrists under it as well.

"Oh! Are we gonna dance! I love to dance!" She squealed, excited, and began bouncing around and swinging her hips from side to side as she bopped her head up and down. The result was that she ground her behind into his groinal region, and he grunted, sounding almost like she had hit him as he staggered a step.

"W-would you s-stop that?" He spat, but she wasn't paying attention, nor did she notice that he had drawn the Tessaiga.

She continued to dance and he tipped forwards a little, as if he had to heave or something, and wildly waved the sword through the air, sputtering, "W-wind scar!"

The discharge of power blasted all the mist away within a few minutes, but he kept his hold on her, while Miroku struggled to hold Sango.

Soon, Kagome's brain was clearing, though she didn't really remember what she had been doing or why she was being held so forcefully by Inuyasha. As she became completely clear-headed, her memory cutting off abruptly some time before she had ended up in this position, she blinked, noting just how strongly she was being held. Actually, it soon became clear, when she attempted to tug away from him, that Inuyasha was not holding her…he was _restraining_ her, for some unknown reason, and quite strictly at that.

"Um…Inuyasha? What's going on?"

"Thank god…you're back to normal?" He sighed, sounding frighteningly relieved.

"Back to normal? Did something happen?" She looked over to see that Miroku was releasing Sango from a similar looking hold, her clothes sort of in disarray, and she quickly smacked him, turning red. Meanwhile, Shippō was also looking highly confused, as he zipped up his fly and hopped off Miroku's head.

"Well, thanks be to the gods that's over with." Miroku sighed, rubbing his red cheek.

Both men refused to enlighten them on what happened, and they thankfully made it through the rest of the pass with no more mishaps. Soon, they came upon a truly gorgeous valley, complete with a waterfall and river at the bottom. The odd thing was that the river seemed to be full of pots, excessively large pots, and they even covered the river banks.

They all walked forwards, peering into the first pot they saw. "What is this stuff?" Kagome asked, poking her head over the rim.

"Saki, smells like anyway." Inuyasha said, his nose crinkling.

"Indeed!" They all leapt back as a new guy with an exceptionally long white beard popped out of a pot.

"Who are you?!"

"I'm the Yakurōdokusen, the master of potions, sage of this valley."

"You're the sage?! You've got to be kidding me." Inuyasha groaned and face palmed.

"Inuyasha, be nice." Kagome admonished quietly, while Sango stepped forward and explained the situation to the old skinny man who smelled strongly of alcohol, even to a human nose.

In the end, he was able to help, dropping the Hiraikotsu into a vat of potion and having her jump in after. She disappeared, and the demon slayer and her weapon stayed submerged for longer than Kagome would have thought possible. In fact, they didn't reappear for at least thirty minutes.

Meanwhile, Miroku and the Sage went off to talk about something in private, leaving Inuyasha, Shippō, and Kagome to sit around twiddling their thumbs as they waited anxiously to see if Sango would make it out of the pot alive.

"I wish we could see what's going on in there…" Kagome muttered, sitting nearby and staring at Sango's pot.

"Well, let's see." Inuyasha said and stood, going over to the next pot over and sticking his head inside.

"Um…it's this one Inuyasha…not that one." Shippō pointed out, as usual obviously thinking that Inuyasha was a dunce.

"Yeah, but they're all connected. That's what he said right?"

"Did he?" Kagome questioned, not remembering him ever saying anything of the sort. But apparently it was true, because Inuyasha surfaced a few minutes later, saying that he could see her. He was also flushed and looked a little glassy eyed.

"Inuyasha…are you getting drunk in there?"

"No…*hic*…"

"You totally are!"

"Well, maybe jusht a little bit."

Kagome couldn't help but giggle at him as he slurred his words a little. At that point he simply ignored her and hopped into the pot, submerging until just his fuzzy ears stuck out over the top, watching what was going on and popping his head out every so often to give them updates. Kagome couldn't help but watch his white dog ears as they twitched and wiggled, snickering under her hand in amusement. Every time his head appeared over the rim he seemed even more drunk, and eventually Kagome and Shippō both dragged him out, concerned that he was overdoing it a bit.

As soon as the pulled him out, he passed out, flopping over backwards out and keeling over in a dead faint. Kagome scooted forward and lifted his head onto her lap. He hummed and nuzzled into her, flipping onto his side and burying his face in her legs as his arms wrapped around her hips, snuggling in close and cuddling up to her. She flushed as his warm breath tickled one of her thighs, and then jumped when after a while there was a soft lick on her skin. Today was not a good day to be wearing a skirt.

She grabbed the tip of one ear sharply and gave it a stern pull at the second gentle lick, scolding him because she didn't want him to get any funny ideas in his drunken state. "That's enough, Inuyasha."

He grumbled in his sleep, and then nipped her thigh, making her squeak and swat him lightly on the top of his head as she flushed red.

They waited around for a while longer, and eventually Sango emerged from the pot, the Hiraikotsu whole and well again. Miroku also showed back up, from wherever he had gotten off to. Thanking the Sage, they all took their leave, off to find the next demon.

* * *

Author's Note:

Well, this chapter was just a bunch of fun, silliness, fluff, and a little bit of lemon-scent in the air. I hope everyone enjoyed the change of pace. It's gonna get pretty intense I think here in a bit, so this was well deserved.

Also, you might have noted that I didn't put in any KAGOME POV or INUYASHA POV breaks. I'm trying out a new style of fluidly switching between points of view. I'd love any feedback. Like it? Hate it? Let me know. :D

As always, a huge shout out to my wonderful, lovely reviewers. Know that you are all greatly appreciated.

Cheers!


	23. Chapter 23

With nothing better to do, Kagome and Inuyasha began to train on his demonic possession problem. In fact, they were all still training like crazy, sensing that the final battle was fast approaching.

And so, Kagome and Inuyasha tried to see if there was any way for him to use his demonic powers while staying in control. It was risky training. As Totosai had warned, if he lost control completely it could become very difficult to snap him out of it, but Inuyasha was determined to master it so that he wouldn't have to worry about turning feral and hurting any of his friends.

So, Kagome and him went into the woods, alone and away from the others when they trained, to make things safer and reduce the risk of there being any accidents.

He would set Tessaiga aside, still close enough that he could grab it in an emergency, but far enough that it didn't affect his demon powers. And then they would spar, Kagome taking her fang off as well, or else he would attack a tree, imagining it was Naraku. As soon as his eyes turned red, he would attempt to grab control of it. If he succeeded his irises would remain golden while the red would still be glowing around them. If he failed his irises would turn teal.

Kagome would watch him carefully, and if they turned the wrong color she would quickly cut her hand and press it to his lips. Shortly after starting this training they had found out that the taste of her blood never failed to somehow snap him out of it. When asked, he had explained that it was due to a couple of things. First, the taste of her blood made him think he had hurt her, and he automatically snapped out of it as her mate. Second, the human in her blood helped to balance out the demon in his, and when he absorbed it, it helped to balance him. That didn't make sense to Kagome personally, since it wasn't like he was getting a blood transfusion, so it shouldn't affect his blood one way or another if he tasted hers. He hadn't been able to really explain it, only saying, "There's power in blood Kagome. You should know that by now."

So, she accepted it. As long as it worked she wasn't going to complain, though she wasn't fond of cutting herself. Thankfully, he seemed to be getting the hang of it, keeping control more and more recently, so she didn't have to do it as often.

It was after one such night of training that finally something happened. They were exiting the woods, heading back to camp, when they had an unexpected visitor. Almost as soon as Inuyasha and Kagome reached the camp fire, they all sensed an incoming demon and took up defensive postures. As soon as they recognized Kagura, those apprehensive postures only tensed, all of them expecting the worst.

Surprisingly she raised her hands, as if in surrender. "Calm down, I'm just here to relay a message. Nothing else."

They all relaxed some, not much, but a little, and Inuyasha barked, "Oh yeah? Well what is it then?"

"Naraku has found the location of the last jewel shard. It resides in the underworld."

"Wait…the underworld?"

"Yes. And there's only one way to get there. The Gate to the Afterlife, in the land of fire."

"Okay… And why are you telling us this? What's the catch?" Sango asked suspiciously.

"Look, I just relay the message. Naraku doesn't tell me anything."

"And why should we trust you?" Was Miroku's input.

She shrugged. "There's no reason for you to. It's up to you what you want to do with this information. My job is done."

She set about flying off, but halted when Sango called out. "Hold on! Please, tell me, what has become of my brother?"

"That brat? Naraku took his jewel shard a while back. He was turned loose, don't know where he is now. He didn't have any memory after all, so he probably got killed by bandits or something."

"Where? Where was he set free?"

Kagura looked at them for a long moment and then heaved an exasperated sigh. "It was in the woods near where Mt. Hakurei used to be." Then she eyed Inuyasha speculatively. "In return for the information, I have something else to tell you. Remember that infant you split in half? One half was given to me, and he turned into yet another incarnation named Hakudoshi. The other half has been hidden away…somewhere very safe. I can only imagine what the reason for that is."

"His heart? Could it be his heart?" Inuyasha asked, his voice suddenly very sharp and demanding.

"That's precisely what I was thinking. In exchange for the information regarding your brother, I would like you to hunt down this heart, and kill it."

Kagome blinked, shocked. "Wait…that will kill Naraku. Why are you asking us to do that?"

"I wish to be free of him, but I can't until he is dead."

They all were taken aback, astonished by the revelation. She didn't say another word, just rising up into the sky on one of her feathers and flying away.

"Do you think she was telling the truth?" Sango asked the others, and they all looked at each other, their brows furrowed.

"Dunno. But…it's possible. The stuff he wanted her to tell us is undoubtedly a trap though." Inuyasha muttered, almost as if to himself.

Miroku hummed, looking thoughtful. "Maybe he wants us to go first? Open the way for him to go?"

"Maybe…but what should we do? If he goes first, he'll get the jewel shard." Kagome responded to Miroku.

"Sango? Are you going after Kohaku?" Shippō asked, and they all turned to look at the demon slayer expectantly.

"I…"

"You should go. He's your brother. Don't worry about us Sango, we'll take care of this door to the underworld crap. You and Miroku go get your brother." Inuyasha offered gruffly, crossing his arms over his chest.

She nodded reluctantly, seeming torn, and mounted up on Kilala, with Miroku sitting behind her.

"Shippō, how about you go with them. It's gonna be dangerous trying to get into the underworld." Kagome said, kneeling down to look him in the eye.

The little fox demon bit his lip, looking between Kagome and Kilala, but eventually he nodded too and scampered off to join the other party. They set off quickly to go search for Kohaku, leaving Inuyasha and Kagome alone by themselves.

"Heh, just like old times, eh, Kagome?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, I guess it is."

And so, they parted ways. Inuyasha and Kagome set off to find this gate to the afterlife thing, which seemed like such a bad idea really, but she supposed it couldn't be helped. To get there they had to traverse across mountains, which wasn't a surprise. They always seemed to be going over mountains. This time they were volcanic mountains though, so it was a bit different.

"Holy hell it's hot." Inuyasha complained, and Kagome groaned in assent as they grew closer to the place that had been described.

They plodded on, making good headway, but the distance was pretty formidable. It took them a little less than a week to begin to really narrow in on it.

The night before they reached it, the both decided to stop a little early to try and get a good rest for whatever they would encounter tomorrow, so as the sun set they found themselves searching for somewhere to stay the night. Thankfully, these volcanic cliffs were full of old inactive lava flows, some of them large enough to be caves that they could bunk down in. Once they had set up a small fire that wouldn't smoke them out, they settled together on Kagome's sleeping bag, able to actually sleep side by side since they were alone for once. It was still quite warm, even after the sun set, and so they just laid it out like a pad and lay on top of it. Inuyasha shed both his robe of the fire rat and his white kosode before Kagome knew what was going on, but it instantly grabbed her attention.

"Wh-what are you doing?" She sputtered, a little surprised by his sudden disrobing.

He sent her an aggravated glance. "Trying to cool down."

"Ah." She nodded, wondering why she hadn't put the two together herself. Maybe the heat and made her a little silly in the head.

It wasn't a bad idea actually, and so she sat up and rummaged around in her yellow bag for something she could wear that would be cooler. Thankfully she had packed her white sleeping yukata that Kaede had given her. Ever since it had nearly come untied after falling on top of Inuyasha a while back, she had taken to bringing a rather brief tank top that she could wear under it, so she wouldn't have to suffer another embarrassment. That seemed so long ago now…even though it had only been a matter of months really. Being possessed by a flea demon hadn't exactly been any of their brightest point, but it certainly made for amusing conversation.

Reminded of the incident as she pulled the white robe out of her bag, she snorted.

Inuyasha's ears perked and he turned his head towards her. "Something funny?"

She held up the white robe. "Oh, for some reason I just remembered Myoga's girlfriend and that whole…incident."

He snorted too as she reminded him of it. "Oh yeah. That was somethin' else. Wonder what you would've done if you'd gotten possessed."

"Probably chased you guys around like everyone else did. The only person who did anything different was you remember?" She flashed him a grin.

He flushed and cleared his throat.

She snickered and finished pulling out her night clothes, grabbing a fresh pair of underwear since hers were drenched in sweat. "Hey. Inuyasha, I'm gonna change. Could you close your eyes?"

"Why? I've seen it all ready." He responded, his voice sort of lazy and sounding a bit deeper than usual.

She shot him a look over her shoulder. "By accident!"

"Think you're forgetting something…"

"What?"

"You invited me to look at one point. I certainly ain't gonna go forgetting that."

She flushed, having almost forgotten herself. "Oh…w-well, that was in a hot spring, with mist…and…and I was covering myself up…and it was to make a point!"

"And what point was that?"

"Uh…well…I guess I was frustrated by your lack of reaction, and why you seemed to never get embarrassed by it, or understood why it bothered me when you accidentally saw me naked."

"Oh trust me…I reacted. I always reacted. I was just usually too busy trying to figure out why you'd screamed, or getting my face shoved into the ground to show it."

She flushed and cleared her throat. After a bit it was obvious he wasn't planning to close his eyes, and though she knew if she made a big enough fuss or made him feel guilty about it by sniffling he would look away, she gave up on the idea. Strangely the thought of him watching her actually was causing a coil of heat to build up in her stomach, though she wasn't entirely sure why.

Giving a huff, she turned her back to him and sat on her knees. It was fine if he saw her naked back after all, he had seen that a million times as he tended to various wounds. She pulled her shirt over her head, her skin prickling in awareness, almost as if she could feel the heat of his gaze. She reached back and unsnapped her bra…or attempted to anyways. But suddenly his hands were over hers and he stopped her.

She yelped and nearly jumped out of her skin as she grabbed her discarded shirt and brought it up to cover her breasts. "Inuyasha! I'm trying to change here! What are you doing?!" She squeaked.

"Looking at this weird contraption." He grumbled, poking at her bra clasp.

She knew she wouldn't get him off her without satisfying his curiosity, and so she reached back with one hand and partially unclasped it. "They're hook and eye closures. Those little hooks go into those little wire loops, you see?"

His hands came back up and messed with it for a minute, unclasping it and then re-clasping it a few times.

"Huh. Weird." He grunted eventually, and she felt his warmth disappear from behind her. She turned to glance, and sure enough he was back on the sleeping bag, laying lazily on his back with his hands under his head and one knee cocked as he watched her.

She sighed and rolled her eyes before turning back to her task. She drew her shirt and bra away and slipped on the tank top, and then the yukata. Under the cover of the yukata she shimmied off her pants and underwear, slipping a new set of panties on before tying the white sleep robe in front. The loose material was much cooler and she sighed in relief as she put her dirty clothes away in a dirty clothes bag and rejoined Inuyasha on the sleeping bag. She felt some rustling and sensed Inuyasha rolling over onto his side, leaning up over her with his head propped on his hand as his elbow shoved into the sleeping bag.

"Hey Kagome…"

"Hm?" She tiredly answered the deep rumble and looked up to meet his gaze. His eyes were molten gold, intense in a way that instantly tightened her stomach and made her wide awake again.

After a long moment of his staring down at her, she cleared her throat, feeling her cheeks warming up. "Um…what is it Inuyasha…?" She murmured, her voice stuttering a little in her chest.

He chuckled and his ears twitched, pricking forwards even more, though it seemed impossible. "Remember that reaction we were just talking about…?"

She dazedly mumbled, "Uh-huh…yeah…?"

"…I'm not looking for a threat or getting 'sat' at the moment…"

For a second she didn't understand what he was saying, but then it clicked. Earlier he had said that he was too busy looking for whatever had made her scream or getting 'sat' for him to show his supposed reaction to seeing her naked, but now…now she was seeing exactly what kind of reaction he had been talking about. As she sucked in a sharp breath, her flush deepening with the sudden knowledge, his eyes darkened even more and she immediately knew what had made them seem like they were almost burning. They were half lidded and the pupils were blown wide with lust, and though that made them darker, the burnished gold that she could still see seemed almost liquid in the firelight set next to such dark pupils.

"O-oh…" Was the only thing she could say, and she got a smirk in reply that flashed a hint of fang.

His head slowly dipped and she blinked, realizing this was about to become an intimate situation, which set her mind into overdrive, her thoughts all along the lines of: _Oh my god we're gonna kiss! I think…are we? Wait…yes, we are definitely going towards kiss-land…and we're alone…it's just us here. Is something like_ _ **that**_ _going to happen again? Is he gonna…are we gonna…_

Her brain was a nonsensical mess by the time his lips met hers, and she gasped at the light touch, then sunk into it, bringing up a hand to latch onto his hair and parting her lips under his. It started off soft and slow, but soon picked up speed since they hadn't been able to kiss in a long time. There was a lot of pent up tension between the two of them, and it seemed they both realized just how much they had been missing and wanting this, even if they had been too busy to realize it.

They got a little too eager in fact, as one of Inuyasha's fangs ground against her teeth, quickly followed by a click of all their teeth coming together sharply as she jerked. She hissed and he grunted but they just readjusted their angle and pressure and continued. It was warm, and moist, and slippery as his tongue invaded her mouth, and humid as their breaths panted together and combined, and sloppy as they produced a little too much saliva and some of it ended up escaping their lips.

And then Kagome squeaked as Inuyasha broke human rules and ran his tongue over her mouth, a lap like a dog's tongue that simultaneously grossed her out and kind of turned her on, probably because she was already so into the kiss. Still, she muffled a protest and his lips sealed back onto hers. To make sure his tongue didn't come out and misbehave, she slipped her tongue inside his mouth this time, running it over his insanely sharp fangs in an attempt to mark their positions so she wouldn't cut herself on them. That information was quickly forgotten though as she engaged his tongue and enjoyed the warmth and wetness of his mouth on hers. It felt the same, and yet different having her tongue in his mouth instead of her own. It was the same heat and moisture, though she was pretty sure he tended to run warmer than her, but it was definitely not her mouth, and therein lay the novelty of it.

She attempted to synchronize her tongue and her lips, though she didn't really succeed, but it still felt good and soon she was forgetting to be careful. Her tongue slid across a sharp fang and the taste of blood joined the kiss. Inuyasha hissed and then groaned, seeming to be both concerned and turned on by the taste, and his tongue sought out hers, quickly finding the little cut and lapping at it to help it heal. After a moment, they had to part for air, and his lips kissed down her cheek, leading to her ear.

"Hey Kagome…" He whispered into the shell, his voice raspy and deep and husky and his breath puffing alongside it. "We're alone for once…" He rumbled, the words echoing her previous thoughts.

They hadn't thought about it the last time they ended up in a cave alone together, but given what had happened then, the thought was instantly in their heads this time…that this setting was just like when he had dry humped her to his completion.

His words shot through her, sending a bolt of heat strait to her belly. "I noticed…" She groaned back, a hint of amusement in her tone from the obvious statement, and her hands slid down from where they were nestled in his hair.

She stroked through the long strands, luxuriating in the feel of combing through such long silky hair, and then was instantly reminded that he wasn't wearing a shirt as her fingers met the bare skin of his back. Her fingers immediately dug into him, almost of their own accord as she gripped onto his warm flesh for an instant before she forced them to release so she could slide her hands under his hair and stroke up and down his back with her palms to feel all those lovely back muscles. It didn't slip her notice though that gripping him hard with her fingers and nails had caused a sharp growl to come from his throat and his body flexed. He seemed to like what she was doing because he moved himself totally on top of her, settling between her legs and giving her full range of motion to move her hands over his upper body.

This really was like last time.

Except he was half naked and she was wearing significantly less as well. Which was made much more obvious when Inuyasha suddenly grabbed her and flipped them.

She gasped and then yelped as his claws dug into her thighs rather painfully and their heads bonked together, making them both wince as he rolled over. She clutched his back with her fingers and then tugged her hands out from under him quickly when they landed, their combined weight threatening to bruise her. She sat up astride him and they squinted and blinked at each other from the slight headaches brought on by clonking heads. It hadn't exactly been graceful, and her robe came partially open, exposing her skimpy tank top and the hint of her thighs and panties. She gasped and looked down, noting that she could see the shape of her nipples from under the thin fabric, and she hurried to try and yank her robe closed again, flushing bright pink.

Inuyasha stalled that idea by grabbing her arms and rumbling, "…please don't."

His tone had been both bossy and also slightly pleading, and as his dark eyes looked up into her own, pleading with her not to cover up, she found her grip on the fabric loosening. He honestly looked like a begging puppy at the moment, complete with his ears a little off to the sides of his head. The thought though didn't amuse her as much as it normally would. Instead, the pleading look on his face turned her on even more, and at the same time the sweet expression made her feel slightly more at ease. And so, with a shuddering sigh, she released her grip entirely and let her robe fall open again.

His hands instantly landed on her waist as a deep groan came from his chest, his eyes glossing over a little. She shivered, caught between aroused and embarrassed, and a deep flush went down her neck and crawled across her chest. Looking down, and away from his gaze out of embarrassment, her attention was instead caught by looking at his bare front. The sight of his lean, muscular chest and belly disappearing between her thighs was enough to thoroughly distract her, and her flush deepened for a reason other than embarrassment this time.

And then her embarrassment returned tenfold when he whispered. "…you're wet."

She jerked, nearly falling off him at the statement, and her wide eyes locked back onto his as she sputtered nonsensically, her gaping mouth not really able to form syllables for a second.

He must have heard some sort of question or denial in her strung together sounds of non-language, because he explained further. "I can smell it…and I can feel it." His hips bucked, rolling his bare belly against where the crotch of her panties were pressed for emphasis.

She yelped, her head feeling light from the strait forward statements. She was aroused by the words, to the point that it made the aforementioned condition significantly worse, but it also embarrassed her to the point she wanted to smack him and hide herself under a rock.

Swatting at his chest in admonishment, she squealed, "Inuyasha!" - her voice in the higher ranges only discernable by bats and dogs. Luckily, or unluckily for him, he had dog ears, and they laid flat at the sound. "Y-you don't…that's not…you can't…d-don't just say things like that!"

"Why?" He asked, his head cocking, but his eyes were traveling over her form and his subtly shifting hips told her he wasn't really thinking about their current conversation.

"It's embarrassing!" She squeaked, trying to grab her robe and close it again.

He was having none of that and sat up, grabbing her wrists and bringing her scantily clad chest into contact with his bare one. His lips brushed against her as he said, "-don't care." And then he kissed her.

She gasped, momentarily thinking about pulling away, but then she got drawn into the kiss and groaned, kissing him back. He pulled back a second later, mumbling against her mouth in between kisses, "I love it…hot as fuck…you smell so good, Kagome…."

She gasped as he mumbled, not sure what to feel about this new discovery of his chatty side during sexy situations. She was torn between continued embarrassment and arousal, her mind still a bit too active even as they kissed.

Inuyasha on the other hand, wasn't thinking much at all. He wasn't even particularly aware that he was running off at the mouth, not that he would have cared. Mostly, he was running on pure instinct, and having his mate in his arms triggered a lot of them. Her warmth, her scent, the feel of her against him…all of it sent him into a state of lust.

One sensation that seemed to catch more of his attention than some of the others was the feel of her ridiculously thin-clothed breasts pushing up against his chest. Of course, being male, he had thought about them plenty of times, especially after he had accidentally seen glimpses of them. So now, they were commanding a lot of his thought process, such as it was, and his hands began to follow suit, again working more on instinct than rational logic. If he had been thinking more clearly, he might have considered that he should ask permission first.

His palms, which had been at her waist, started climbing up her warm body, mapping out her ribs, getting a few muffled protests as he unintentionally tickled her. She was still a bit tense from having let her robe open up, even with his hormonally charged mind he could tell that much. So, to try and get her to relax already, he spent a few moments rubbing his hands up and down her sides in what he figured would be a soothing manner, still working off of his gut feeling on the matter.

It worked to a certain degree, and once she had softened a bit again, he moved his hands up further, sliding around from the sides of her ribs to the front, right under her breasts. That had her tensing up again, but this time he didn't notice, since most of his focus had transferred over to his palms as they moved up just that little bit more to where he wanted them to be.

That got a reaction. She pulled back from the kiss, squeaked something very high pitched that sounded sort of like his name, and then he got swatted. Blinking a bit in surprise at the intensity of her reaction he pulled away to look her in the eye, leaving his hands where they were but freezing them in place despite the urge to squeeze and fondle.

At seeing her exceptionally flustered expression, the blush making her face very nearly glow in the dark, he figured maybe he had moved too fast.

"Uh…sorry. Is this not okay?" He asked tentatively, feeling his ears twitching a bit nervously on his head.

She bit her lip, glanced down at his hands then back up at his face, seeming to contemplate it.

"It's…I wasn't…I didn't really expect it. B-but…um…"

"Do you want me to stop?" He didn't want to, but if she was uncomfortable or something, he would definitely stop. Still, he secretly hoped she would say 'no.'

She thought about it some more, turning redder and redder by the second. After a bit, which felt like hours to Inuyasha, she finally mumbled, "N-uh…I guess, it's okay. W-we don't have to stop."

Given the go ahead, Inuyasha didn't hesitate to work on distracting her, putting his lips back to work kissing hers and then spending some time kissing her ears and neck as well. He left his hands where they were but kept them still for a while, concerned if he moved them she might change her mind. So, he focused on taking her mind off of it, nibbling on her earlobes, getting a rather loud squawk when he stuck his tongue in her ear, licking her neck and giving it a few gentle nips, and then returning to her lips.

She was still fidgety but seemed to have calmed down a bit, so he risked a little squeeze. She tensed up again, but then as he gave a few more gentle squeezes, she seemed to ease up a little, maybe growing accustomed to the sensation or something. As she relaxed again, he indulged in some happy time, fondling her chest and thoroughly obsessing over how soft and squishy they were, molding to his hands in a way that he hadn't felt anything else do before. She seemed pretty okay with it, not seeming to mind too much anymore, but not really groaning in ecstasy either.

Inuyasha, being very much new at this, was a bit confused. He'd heard rumors off and on about girls getting off on their breasts being touched like this, and while Kagome seemed to like it okay, she wasn't moaning or squirming or doing any of the things he had sort of expected. Thinking maybe he wasn't squeezing hard enough, he gave a bit firmer of a grab, but all that got him was a little wince and her saying, "Gentle!"

Immediately easing up on his hold on her, he softly apologized and gave her some gentle kisses to show he was sorry. Thankfully she didn't seem to hold a grudge.

But now he was back to square one. He absolutely loved touching her like this, and judging by the throbbing hard on that was currently taking up a good deal of mental space, it was definitely doing something for him. Now, he wanted to do something that would make it good for her too. So, he tried rubbing them, and giving them a little massage, and cupping them, and all sorts of other things, until he finally noticed the two little hard spots poking his palms. Feeling a little like an idiot for missing something so obvious, he switched the way he held her chest, cupping them sort of under and to the sides, so his thumbs could come up and roll across her nipples, hoping that would get a positive reaction.

What he got, was her jerking, almost flinching really, and he would have thought he'd hurt her if it weren't for the little surprised sound she made. It wasn't a moan, but it didn't sound pained or like a protest either. So he tried it again. That had her gasping, just a little, and she twitched again. Judging by the sudden increase in her aroused scent, he was definitely on to something. Excited by the discovery, and eager to discover more, he did it some more, delighted when the small buds got harder and bigger too it seemed, which he hadn't exactly expected. In fact, since he hadn't ever seen a woman naked before, he was surprised by the size of them, only having his own tiny nipples to compare them with.

Now thoroughly engrossed with his new activity, he played with them some more like that, and then took them between thumb and forefinger to get an even better feel. Squeezing and rolling them gently like that definitely gave him a much better idea of their size and shape, which by this point he was sure he would be able to clearly see through her thin top, if he wasn't busy still kissing her. Not only was it more fun for him, but it got a much stronger reaction from Kagome, who finally did moan, although it was so soft he wasn't sure he would have been able to hear it if he did have such good ears. As he kept at it, he got more soft sounds from her, and she began to fidget, arching into the touch one minute and then away the next, as if she couldn't make up her mind. Correctly assuming that her moving away from him was due to embarrassment, he didn't stop what he was doing, playing with them and having the time of his life as he did so.

Kagome was also having a great time. The way Inuyasha was touching her felt absolutely amazing, sending bolts of heat directly from her breasts to her groin and making her feel hot and bothered in a major way. She could feel herself throbbing down there, as if in time to her heartbeat, and she desperately wanted to touch herself, but held back because that was going way too far. What they were doing now was pushing it a bit, but she was mostly comfortable with the current goings on, still embarrassed as all get out, but basically okay with it. Too much more of this though, and she was going to have a problem, one that would need fixing or would make her very cranky indeed.

Thankfully, it seemed that he also reached a breaking point, because suddenly his hands left her chest. His mouth left hers, where they had been sort of kissing, though neither of them had been doing it well since they were both distracted. She had a second to relax, thinking maybe they were winding down from their make-out session, which both relieved her a bit and also disappointed her, but then his hands landed on her hips and he was yanking her down to meet him. She had been sitting further back on his thighs, not flush against him, but now he pulled her to be pressed right up against his crotch. As expected, she instantly felt his erection through the cloth of his hakama and her panties, and the pressure sent a shock of pleasure through her system as well.

They both grunted, Kagome gasping a little as well in surprise. This was getting a little out of hand. As much as she wanted to do all sorts of things, they really hadn't done all that much with each other since becoming a couple, so it was still new and still unnerved her. She didn't think she was ready for anything more than what they had already done.

Still, as he pulled her to meet him, thrusting up to grind against her, she was unable to stop. They had done this once, Kagome reminded herself, so dry humping should be fine. At the thought, she couldn't help but remember the last time, and the thought of Inuyasha getting off again like that was exciting enough that she was suddenly completely on board with the plan. In fact, she took the opportunity to give his ears a little rub, which had him tensing against her and groaning.

Comfortable again, maybe because this was familiar territory, she snuggled closer, rubbing against him and caressing his ears as he bucked under her and gripped her hips tight to him. It seemed he was making an effort to be gentle this time, not grinding against her quite as roughly as last time, and given her position on top she was able to pull away a little if it got to be too much. So she enjoyed it as well, being aroused enough that grinding like this was providing her with pleasure too, although it still wouldn't be enough to get her off.

It was a little awkward, neither of them able to get perfectly in rhythm, but it was still great. Kagome could tell when he was getting close, based on the growling and jerkier motions. She would have gone and bitten his claim mark, knowing that would send him over the edge, but it turned out to be unnecessary. He came, which Kagome could feel given their tight contact, and at the same moment he grabbed her and bit her claim mark instead. The unexpected move had Kagome yelping something incomprehensible and quite loud, and her body bucked against his, taken to the very edge by the sudden surge of pleasure that seared her nerves from the bite. If she had been by herself, she would have orgasmed in an instant, but with him there, she was just a little too self-conscious and her body couldn't quite do it.

Which left her very wired.

Inuyasha, having finished, plopped back down on his back beneath her, panting and flushed and staring up at her in an adoring manner. The way he looked at her, and the way he looked in general, distracted her from the incessant throbbing that would otherwise have driven her nuts. After a moment he licked his lips and cocked his head, looking her up and down searchingly.

"Did you…?"

Kagome flushed, almost expecting the question but still embarrassed by it nonetheless. "Uh…no." she mumbled after clearing her throat. And then before he could ask if she wanted to continue, as he undoubtedly would, she added, "It's okay though, I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet. Almost, but not quite."

He blinked, and then his eyes softened a bit in understanding. "Okay. If ya say so."

She smiled, still blushing like crazy, but significantly more comfortable with this conversation than the last time. After a moment he sighed and then shifted, and she realized he needed to go and clean up. Dismounting she flopped down on her back on the sleeping bag, heaving a sigh as the move rubbed her against him one last time and she realized just how close she still was, a sensation that made her want to groan. Inuyasha adjusted himself and stood, making to go off and find one of the little hot springs that dotted the area, the only water that was available in this hot volcanic region.

Right before he walked out of the little cave, he glanced back at her and said, "While I'm gone, if you wanted to … you know, uh, take care of yourself you could. I'll let you know before I come in so I don't…interrupt."

The blush that had started to die off found a second revival in an abrupt and rather violent manner, and she jerked, looking up at him with surprise. It took her a second to get over the initial shock, but then she cleared her throat, realizing with a good deal of embarrassment that it was a good idea, and mumbled, "Oh…uh…thanks."

He flushed a bit too and nodded, then turned and walked out without another word.

Normally she wouldn't have seriously considered the offer, but under the circumstances it didn't take her long to make up her mind and quickly stuff a hand inside her underwear. She had come down off the edge, but was still worked up enough that after just a minute or two of touching her clit, she found release.

She had enough time to grab a fresh pair of underwear and clean herself up with the old pair, stuffing them in her dirty clothes bag. Retying her robe, because it still felt weird to be exposed like this, she curled up and waited for Inuyasha. He arrived shortly after that, a bit damp and grumpy, but clean.

They curled up together and fell asleep very quickly, both quite happy and satisfied.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hello everyone. I hope you all enjoyed the new chapter. ;)

By the way, I will be updating this story every weekend. So, once a week instead of twice. Why? Because there's another story out, that's why. :D

That one will be updated every Wednesday, or as close as possible.


	24. Chapter 24

Waking up together, remembering the previous night, it was a tiny bit awkward for Kagome. But at the same time, she was exceptionally happy as well. They were both in a very good mood in fact, which made them both quite positive and motivated to go and get this weird gate to the underworld thing done and over with.

So, they set off, determined to get through this barren, hot, wasteland of a volcanic mountain range and reach their destination today. They made good time, and thankfully were indeed able to reach their goal, skidding to a stop at the entrance of a rather large lava flow, which seemed to descend strait down into the ground in a menacing manner, the dark maw looking like some sort of mouth of an enormous demon.

"Uh…you sure this is the right place?" She asked hesitantly, not liking the looks or feel of it. Undoubtedly it was, she could clearly feel the imposing presence of something down there…but she didn't like it one bit.

He just gave her a look.

She heaved a sigh. "Right."

And so down they went, Kagome clinging to Inuyasha's back. It was a shockingly long way down, and soon they were plunged into darkness, forcing Kagome to use a small flashlight she had stowed in her small pack. Eventually they reached the bottom and landed in a pile of bones, making Kagome grimace.

"Dang, this is just like the bone eater's well."

"Yeah, though I bet these poor fuckers weren't dead to start with when they came down here."

Kagome winced. "Yeah, probably not."

With that lovely welcome mat, they proceeding into the cave somewhat cautiously, but being careful still didn't mean Kagome wasn't her normal clumsy self. It wasn't too long before she tripped over a bone and landed on the floor of the cave, grunting in pain as she knocked a couple of her own not-so-funny bones on the pointy bits of skeletons scattered across the ground. It was then, as she sat up, that she realized there was something odd about them. They were shaped like bones, but some of them still appeared to have flesh. And yet that flesh was hard, just as hard as the bones themselves.

"What the…?"

Curling her lip, she gingerly picked up a specimen and immediately realized what the problem was.

"They're…stone?"

Inuyasha frowned and squatted down. "Yeah…you're right." He lifted his head and sniffed at the air, peering down the cave. "There must be some sort of guardian or some shit that has the power to first burn and then petrify anyone trying to pass."

Kagome cringed. "Yeah…I was kinda hoping you weren't gonna say that…" she muttered as she ungracefully clambered back to her feet, dusting the dirt off her skirt.

He shrugged. "Well, gives us a better idea of what we're dealing with at least."

"Yeah. I guess so."

They continued on in silence after that, both of them on high alert for whatever might be up ahead. Since they were on such high alert, they both quickly sensed the presence of someone else in the cave with them, much further up. They sped up, while still trying not to make much noise, and as they rounded the last corner they came to a screeching halt, both their brows crinkling in consternation.

The silence didn't last long.

"Oh for the love of…what are you doin here Sesshomaru?!" Inuyasha griped loudly, both of them coming out from around the bend and looking at the tall dog demon.

He sent them a somewhat bored and very mildly exasperated look. "Hello, Little Brother. So…I can assume you also know what lies beyond this door?"

"Wait, Kagura talked to you too?" Kagome asked.

"Nothing so mundane as that. I simply came by the information myself."

"Why are you here then? Do you want the jewel too now?" Inuyasha barked, almost interrupting Sesshomaru.

The older demon slightly rolled his eyes to the side, in a brief show of exasperation. "I would think you would know by now that I am pursuing Naraku."

"Why?"

"My reasons are my own."

So saying, he dismissed them by turning back to the enormous set of doors in front of them, flanked by two giant statues. Those two statues soon turned out to be two giants instead, who asked if they wanted to pass. Saying yes had the immediate result of them wanting to kill them all, since apparently only the dead were meant to pass through the gates - which explained all the bodies littering the cave. Those poor souls had indeed passed through the gates, only they had left their very much dead bodies behind them when they did so.

Thankfully, when Sesshomaru drew the Tenseiga, the two giants faltered, seeming almost mesmerized by the sword of the dead, and then to everyone's shock the two mammoth guardians bowed and the gates creaked open, letting them through.

"Wow, I guess we were lucky to run into you, Sesshomaru." Kagome said, attempting to be friendly. He was, after all, the brother of her mate, and she sort of suspected he was actually nicer than he appeared.

Inuyasha sent her a fierce scowl, obviously displeased that she was making small talk with his hated older sibling. Sesshomaru, on the other hand, simply ignored them both, striding with purpose through the gates and into the underworld … with them following close behind. Despite being obviously pissed about benefiting from their little accidental run-in with Sesshomaru, Inuyasha was still smart enough to realize they probably wouldn't have another good chance to get through within enough time to stop Naraku.

Sure enough, they quickly ran into Naraku on the other side, and a battle over the final jewel shard commenced. Ironically the last jewel shard turned out to be mounted in the skeleton of the two brother's father, guarded by the very same demon who had created that black pearl within Inuyasha's eye. Although, he turned out to be more crystal than demon, and he used a rather fierce diamond attack, sending shards of deadly crystal shooting out at any who drew near.

Unfortunately, the loyal protector grew corrupted when exposed to the defiled jewel that Naraku possessed, and soon he had been defeated, his shattered body coming to rest in pieces within the crevasses and crannies of the enormous dog-demon's bones and armor. The rest of them ended up having to take shelter there themselves as Naraku set his sights on them, seeking the jewel.

To everyone's horror, the last shard jewel shard had popped free of the crystal demon and started free falling. They all fought desperately, almost gorilla fighting with one another in the tall spires of rock and jutting bones as they each sought to possess the jewel. Sesshomaru didn't seem so much interested in that as he was interested in confronting Naraku, which bought Inuyasha and Kagome enough time to catch the jewel. And now they were hiding within the bones of his father as they tried to come up with a game plan for getting out of this mess.

Naraku had erected an even more powerful barrier than before, and even the red Tessaiga couldn't break it. Sesshomaru battered against him endlessly, but didn't make much progress either.

"Well, now what?" Kagome asked breathlessly, holding Inuyasha back by his red robe. He had wanted to go out there and fight, but she had only just barely convinced him to retreat into here with her and try to come up with a plan.

"Hell if I know, don't fucking ask me!" he growled, his tone and words harsh with aggravation at just how tough their opponent had become.

They both jumped at a new voice, and turned to see the crystal skull of the demon, who spoke and told them that the only way to progress would be for the Tessaiga were to absorb his power. The only way to do that would, of course, be to defeat the talking demon head, which turned out to be a bit more difficult than one would expect. Inuyasha had to summon every ounce of resolve, otherwise his Tessaiga would lose all power to the demon instead, but bashing at it caused barrages of the adamantine to pelt him.

"Why do you continue when death or weakness are your only options, Boy?"

"I have to! I have to protect Kagome. And all our friends back home. And Kaede. And everyone else. I must! If that ass out there gets the last jewel shard…it's all over. And if this is the way to defeat him, then so be it!" He bellowed, smashing the blade into the skull one last time.

The old demon skull seemed to grin, and finally he shattered, giving the Tessaiga the power of adamantine barrage. Armed with this new power, Inuyasha set off to fight Naraku, hoping to stop him here. While he went off to try and at least drive the demon out of the underworld, with the grudging help of the Tenseiga and its power to rip holes in between the fabric of the underworld and the living one, Inuyasha instructed Kagome to delve deeper into the skeletal remains, hiding the jewel from Naraku until they had managed to do what needed to be done.

With much protestation, Kagome finally agreed, and set off at a run, sliding down bones and traversing further and further into the beast, finally coming to land where they had first found the Tessaiga. It was almost nostalgic being back here, and she glanced around, trying to distract herself from the booming sounds of battle coming from outside. She noted the spot where the bones had been melted by Sesshomaru's poisonous attacks and shuddered.

She hoped that the training they had been doing to help Inuyasha master his demon blood would help him to win this fight. It had certainly made him stronger, and it may have been the only reason he'd been able to defeat the crystal demon head in the end. Her mind was engulfed with the thoughts of Inuyasha as she worried about him out there. Her heart throbbed, and she gingerly took off her fang necklace to be able to sense him, to make sure he was alright.

Suddenly she felt an odd surge, all around her, an odd warmth and resonance thrumming throughout the giant demon body. Concerned, she wondered if it was coming from outside, and if the battle had taken a turn for the worse or something. Moments later there was a light behind her, all around her, seeming to emanate from the bones themselves.

Words inserted themselves into her head, almost as if they had been whispered in there. She couldn't quite tell if it was just a hallucination or her mind being weird from stress, but it almost seemed like something was speaking to her.

The question was posed, did she love Inuyasha? It was a dumb question if it really was one imposed by a silly brain, and her answer was of course yes, instantaneously shouted through her mind. The next question was whether he loved her in return, and of course she knew the answer to that was also yes, even if he had never said so. It was an unspoken undeniable truth.

Images flashed through her mind, memories, her memories, almost as if they had been pulled from her memory banks and rifled through gently. Flashes of the two of them with the others, Inuyasha bashing Shippō on the head, laughing at Miroku's stupidity for groping Sango, them kissing for the first time, his throwing himself in the way of danger over and over again to protect her, and even to save one or more of their group. Images of the joy and fun they had shared, the love, the sadness, the anger, the irritation and petty squabbling that turned into companionable bickering, the 'sitting', the laughing, the crying… image after image flickered through her mind like some sort of crazy slideshow. Images of him going insane and killing countless people when he went into demon mode, blazing red eyes and fury radiating off him, and then the following images of him shattered and hopeless, desperate to find a way to control those powers, raced through her mind and stayed for lingering moments, as if pondered.

And then there was a momentary pause in the odd interaction, as if whatever was happening had needed a moment to consider something. Kagome certainly didn't know what was going on, though the briefest, craziest thought that crossed her mind was that somehow, someway, Inuyasha's father was somehow responsible.

And then, there was a warmth, an increase in the radiance around her until she shielded her eyes. The words, _"I will place this with you…"_ were whispered into her mind, and suddenly a burning sensation shot through her chest, making her gasp. The burning only lasted a moment, and then relaxed, a warm weight settling in her chest, as if something had been placed there.

She squinted her eyes and looked down, and though the radiance surrounding her began to dim, a glow continued to thrum in her chest, pulsing as if with her heartbeat. Even after the strange warmth and glow had completely disappeared from her surroundings, the warmth and glow in her chest persisted for a few moments before gently subsiding. She could still feel it though, a slight heat, a slight tenderness, a slight weight, that indicated something had indeed been put there.

She didn't have too long to ponder what the hell had just happened, because soon a hole was blasted through the armor and bones in front of her, and in stepped Naraku. She gasped, taking a step back, but before she could attempt to run, her hair had been grabbed, her throat locked into a headlock, and she was lifted off her feet, dragged kicking and screaming out into the thin air.

She vaguely heard the shouts of Inuyasha from nearby over the sound of her own pulse pounding in her ears. She had hidden the jewel shard on her person, and to her horror Naraku set to searching for it, with many different appendages, passing hands, claws, tentacles, and suckers over her body, hunting for it in the folds of her clothes and even prying open her mouth to search for it there. Her skin crawled in revulsion and she shuddered, struggling hard against his grip, even with the pinchers clamped now around her neck drawing blood. A shrill screech came from her chest and she cussed him out with every word she had ever heard Inuyasha say.

Speaking of Inuyasha, he had now reached them, and was in the process of swinging his sword when Naraku finally found the shard hidden inside the pocket where a little push up pad could be put in her bra. The utterly enraged half-demon was on top of them, breaking Naraku's barrier with his adamantine barrage, which swerved around Kagome but slashed and pierced into Naraku bare inches on all sides around her. She was rudely tossed into the air, presumably to drop to her death unless she was caught.

She gasped, her air stolen by terror as she squeezed her eyes shut, and then she oofed as she was caught by a hard band of iron around her middle, which turned out to be Inuyasha's arm.

They fell for a ways, but Inuyasha was able to catch them on an outcropping of rock some ways down. They came careening to a halt, and Naraku made his escape with the last jewel shard. They were all left to get back to the real world by relying on Sesshomaru's sword, which didn't sit well with Inuyasha at all.

He got his own back though, as they climbed out of the tunnel, the two of them caught sight of that two headed dragon that Sesshomaru traveled with, and his little toady Jaken. What was the real shocker though, was the very human girl who was waiting for him as well. She gave a big grin and yelled, "Lord Sesshomaru! You're back!"

Kagome and Inuyasha traded looks and then he bellowed, "OH?!For someone who's always riding me for consorting with humans, you're one to talk Sesshomaru! Who's that little girl huh!?"

Sesshomaru paused half a step and then continued on walking without deigning to respond, but Inuyasha just laughed, seeming to get a real kick out of it.

He was so busy laughing in fact that he totally missed the appearance of Totosai as the Sesshomaru gang left. Kagome noticed though, and overheard their conversation partially as they took off. Totosai was telling Sesshomaru something about him being ready for a new sword…or at least that was the gist of it.

Honestly, as they quickly went out of sight, Kagome hoped that Sesshomaru would finally be able to get the sword he wanted and be happy…and then maybe he would stop coming after Inuyasha's Tessaiga.

* * *

Author's Note:

Okay, yes, I know Sesshomaru didn't get his new sword until after he broke it on Inuyasha's thus giving him that whatchamacallit power, the one that rips a hole in space, but let's just ignore that for now shall we? This thing is wrapping up and those sorts of details are going by the wayside.

Also, sorry for it being so short this time. I hope everyone enjoyed the update anyways though.


	25. Chapter 25

After leaving the underworld, Inuyasha and Kagome hurried to meet up with the others.

When they finally found them, Miroku, Sango, Kilala, and Shippō had successfully found Kohaku, who had some of his memory back but not all of it. He was sweet, sweeter than Kagome had ever known him to be, his integral kind personality showing now that the mind-fuckery had been lifted from his brain. He joined them on their quest.

It took him a while, but he slowly began remembering things, little bit by little bit, and soon he remembered that Sango was his sister, a fact which obviously made her extremely happy, but which also suddenly posed a slightly awkward problem. Miroku, being the pervy monk that he was, continued to hit on Sango, an action which she was slowly warming up to as his fiancé, but now, with her little brother around, any inappropriate act towards his sister was met with rather strong and occasionally violent resistance by the young man.

It proved to be endless entertainment for Shippō, Kagome, and Inuyasha…which was greatly welcomed right now.

All of them were on edge, expecting the worst any day now. So any amusement and lightheartedness was treasured.

They had fully expected Naraku to take the whole jewel and go make a big mess right away, maybe try to destroy the whole world or something. So when nothing happened they had all been a bit surprised, and frankly rather perturbed. What was his game? Why was he waiting to unleash Armageddon? He had all the power now…what more could he possibly want?

It was a week or two later when they finally found out his motive for postponing his ultimate takeover. He was after his own incarnations now. They figured it out after coming across Kagura's body in a field of flowers. That was shortly followed by a run-in with that little white haired girl, Kana, who was ordered to attempt to eliminate them, an endeavor which ended in her destruction. At her demise, when she shattered into a million glass pieces like her mirror, a tiny shard landed in Kagome's eye, and through it, Kagome was shown Naraku's plan. It seemed that Kana had not wished to die in this manner, and her showing Kagome the information had been her last act, in an attempt to thwart her captor.

The information that she gave her, told Kagome that Naraku was planning to kill and regather all the power from his reincarnations. Kagome, of course, immediately told the others of this plan, and they set off to attempt to hunt down the remaining reincarnations first, to try and set them free and hopefully delay Naraku from getting to work on the end of the world.

But despite their best efforts, each of Naraku's incarnations turned up slaughtered, one by one, as if the guy was collecting all parts of himself back together. Kagome was beginning to think that maybe he couldn't wield the finished jewel as he was, but it was hard to tell. Maybe he just didn't want it to get messy. Or maybe he had been after a specific incarnation…that other half of the little infant that had split off, the one that Kagura had told them was his heart. Moryomaru.

It wasn't long before they ran across him too, and it was obvious that he was fully aware of the deaths of his fellow incarnations and had taken the necessary precautions. When they found him he was covered head to toe in crazy armor from all sorts of demons, and appeared to be in the process of trying to eat Koga, for some unknown reason

Koga had acquired some fancy new moves to compensate for him losing his jewel shards in his legs and it was obvious to all of them that he had also gotten stronger.

Sure enough, soon after they arrived, Naraku appeared on the scene, beating the snot out of his own heart and reabsorbing him, armor and all, despite all of them doing their best to prevent it from happening since they all figured it was probably bad news. And right away their hunch was proven correct when he laughed maniacally and flew off, leaving them all with a very bad feeling.

It was only hours before all hell broke loose, quite literally it seemed, as a giant black cloud of miasma rose high into the sky, blotting out the sun and signaling that Naraku was finally ready for the final battle. He took on his true form, and none of them were particularly surprised when he turned out to be a ginormous spider, one that lumbered across the land, spreading miasma and death in its wake.

They all stood at the top of the hill above the village, looking at this giant monstrosity.

"Well, there's no helping it." Miroku sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"Yeah, I guess were going in, huh?" Shippō chattered between his clicking teeth, as he shivered in place with fear.

"No doubt, it's the only thing we can do. We can't let that thing go unchecked. It'll probably take out the whole earth." Kagome added.

In the end though, Shippō did indeed stay behind with Kaede as a last means of defense, or so they said to convince him to stay out of it.

After tearful goodbyes to the young fox, which ended with Inuyasha knocking him out to make sure he didn't follow, they all mounted up, girded their loins, took deep breaths, and prayed to every god they could name before setting off to the mountain of moving badness. It soon became clear that they were going to have to actually enter the demon's massive body, and with a mass cringe shared by all of them they jumped into the no-so-inviting invitation offered by a big old door opening up in its belly. Even Koga had tagged along with them, along with Kohaku, and if Kagome wasn't wrong, she thought she saw a flash of white enter in a bit before them through the side. That white flash was followed soon after by a large green two headed dragon ridden by a small girl and goblin, though none of them saw this since they were already inside the unsettling pink insides of the thing.

Instantly, as soon as they were inside, they began to get separated. Koga got sucked into the floor, much to everyone's horror…except for maybe Inuyasha. Shortly thereafter, Miroku and Sango fell together into a pit that opened up without warning beneath their feet. Kohaku and Kilala flew after them, only to get lost and tuned around and ended up somewhere else entirely.

And soon it was just Kagome and Inuyasha, and he refused to have them separated, as was made obvious by the way he insisted she ride on his back.

But…something wasn't right. He was tense, more than tense, he was nearly quivering under her.

"Hey…are you okay Inuyasha?"

"I…I dunno. I can't … the…urgh…" He grunted, and as he slowed down she dismounted and came around to look him in the face.

As she did, she gasped, shocked when she saw the state of his eyes. They were glowing red, and he was shivering, his skin quaking all over, his nails growing sporadically. This was the most out of control transformation, like it was being yanked out of him from something…somewhere.

And then it hit her. She spun, looking wildly around at the pulsing, thrumming, overwhelming power of the jewel throughout all the flesh around them. The power was defiled, making even her feel aggressive and pissy, like she was having PMS times a hundred, and it was making Inuyasha go utterly ape-shit.

As a deep thrumming growl sounded behind her, she froze, slowly turning to confirm her fear. Sure enough, he had lost it, his eyes glazed and totally feral, no recognition within them whatsoever.

"Shit…" She whispered, taking a hesitant step back.

She hadn't seen him this wild since he had tried to rape her on a bloody field full of the corpses he had slaughtered. His hair blew in the wind created by the power pulsing from him, his eyes glowed violently, his way too long and sharp nails and teeth bared menacingly. She had forgotten how terrifying he was when he was completely out of control, having gotten used to him at least being semi-in control with their training. But now he was ape-shit, and she didn't quite know how to handle it.

She slowly eased back a step, and then another, considering what to do. Thinking fast, she did the first thing that came to mind and shouted, "Sit!"

Down he went, but almost immediately he was straining upwards, the beads only holding him to the ground by a thread. Easing back a few more steps she repeated the command, her spine shuddering as his red eyes locked onto her.

This wouldn't work. He wasn't snapping out of it like usual. She kept walking backwards step by step and saying the 'sit' command, but she knew it was only a temporary fix. Things only got worse because soon she found herself at a dead end that fell away into almost a well, one that she couldn't see the bottom of and looked unsettlingly like an esophagus.

She couldn't purify him with an arrow, well she could try but in his condition it might actually destroy him. Running out of options, and desperately raking her brains for an answer to this unexpected problem, she accidentally flubbed the next 'sit,' and he lunged forwards, his claws slicing across her middle and knocking her back into the pit.

Other's POV

Meanwhile, everyone else was having a pretty bad time too.

Koga had gotten himself alone, lost, and utterly turned around, and was currently wandering the halls, getting very, very pissed at the mazelike structure. Kilala and Kohaku were likewise lost and wandering the endless tunnels, but at a significantly faster pace as they were being chased by a bevy of tentacles that sprouted from the walls, either trying to slice them to ribbons or grab and strangle them.

On the other hand, Sango and Miroku found themselves in the midst of a heated battle, one which ended up with an injured Sango, and as the room filled with miasma Miroku was forced to use his wind tunnel to a capacity it simply did not have. They had managed to stagger away from the fight, alive and relatively in one piece, however Miroku's wind tunnel had stretched to its limit, and they could both hear the whistling sound of the wind even with it sealed up under his prayer beads. At that, Miroku attempted to go off on his own to protect Sango, terrified she would be sucked in with him, but instead found himself in a very sturdy grip. She refused to let him go, saying, "If we die, we die together."

The only calm person in the giant spider body was most likely Sesshomaru, though that soon changed as he was presented with mirages of Ren. Of course he knew them to be fake. However, at the suggestion of her presence here within the demon body, he sent out his senses to make sure it was entirely false. To his horror he did indeed sense his young human charge, and abandoned his previous goal of finding Naraku to instead hunt for her. At that point his calm demeanor changed to anger, mostly at Jaken for allowing the child to come in at all, and also a tight sensation he refused to acknowledge as fear.

The girl in question was at first passed out, but soon came to, to find herself alone, separated from her dragon and little goblin comrades. Afraid, she set off, wandering the halls in search of Lord Sesshomaru. While, at the same time, Jaken was utterly terrified, and looking for her, knowing that he was about to die, either by the belly of the beast they now found themselves in, or by his Lord Sesshomaru for losing Rin.

KAGOME POV

Back to the falling priestess…

She landed with an oof in a puddle of what quickly became apparent as acid of some sort, confirming her fear that she had been falling into some sort of stomach. Gasping at the burning pain singing any skin submerged in the liquid, she hurried to find higher ground, as well as shelter from the liquid raining down from above.

Things quickly went from bad to worse as Kagome watched, with a good deal of horror, as faceless, featureless demons slowly began to rise from the digestive juices, all turning towards her with their eyeless heads. At that moment, a roar sounded from above, and down came Inuyasha, who landed with a splash. Thankfully, he was distracted by the multitudes of demons that now made great opponents for him, and he stopped hunting her. However, the problem there was that he just seemed to make their situation even worse.

Being unstable and apparently unable of higher cognizant thought, Inuyasha didn't notice that as he sliced and diced the demons, they didn't die. Instead they only multiplied as you cut them, and his slaughtering, while usually affective, was now only mass producing the enemy to a point where even he was being overwhelmed. Kagome, of course, saw what was happening, and instantly knew that this was one fight they could not win. They would both be killed and digested unless she did something and fast.

The shock of fear that clenched her belly gave her no choice but to wade into the acid, drawing her bow off her back and wielding it like a club. Occasionally she was given the time to shoot, and she was supremely thankful for the intensive training she had undergone which allowed her to now create those spirit arrows composed entirely of her spiritual powers, because they were much faster to shoot since she didn't have to draw them from her back. And so, she waded through the acid and horde of demons, bludgeoning them left and right and shooting them whenever she had the opportunity, packing both her spirit arrows and bow with as much power as she could, noting that this technique actually purified and stopped them for good. Even so, they kept on sprouting out of the juices.

By the time she managed to reach Inuyasha, her lower half up to her thighs hurt with a fiery agony, but she pushed the pain to the back of her mind as much as she possibly could, and, working mostly on instinct, she instantly wrapped her arms around her mate, ignoring the fact that he might very well swing around and slice her in two from nose to toe. He stiffened impossibly under her, and she instinctively pushed out some of her demon power, letting it leak out despite the fang still around her neck, hoping that the scent of his own blood would stall him from hurting her.

He turned his head, a glowing red eye looking at her, and then he was distracted as yet another wave of demons descended. He assumed a protective stance in front of her this time, much to her relief, and a deep growl came from his chest, one that was meant to warn them off. It frightened even her.

"Inuyasha…there's no way we can win this, we have to leave…" She called desperately, but he seemed to ignore her.

He was still fully demon, and if this kept up, they were still both going to die. So, thinking fast, Kagome did the only thing she could think of to maybe snap him out of it - she swiped her hand across the blood on her chest and stomach where he had slashed her, and reached around him to raise her hand to his lips. The whole act became rather redundant though, when as soon as her bloody skin touched his lips, his fangs bit into her, creating the blood already there a moot point. She winced, but dealt with the pain as he dug his fangs into her flesh.

After a brief moment he tensed, then seemed to relax, before abruptly tensing again. Slowly, he released her palm, and his ears flicked back and forth as he looked around sporadically, as if waking up and just realizing where he was. Hoping against hope he would listen this time, Kagome repeated, "We have to get out of here, there's no way to win this and we're gonna die!"

With a gasp of relief she was hoisted up onto his back in one familiar fluid motion, and they were going back up the throat of the beast, half-jumping half-climbing their way out.

As soon as they were on solid, non-acidic ground, Kagome groaned in relief and dropped down, plopping back onto her butt as her legs protested mightily.

He turned, and concerned that he still might be feral she looked up, noting with a good deal of relief that his irises had turned back to gold, surrounded by red though they still may be. It indicated he was in control of his demon blood now.

Said eyes widened as he took a look at her, and he took a step forwards, only to freeze and tense, his hands clenching into fists as he visibly restrained himself from getting too close to her.

"Kagome…what…what happened?" He rumbled, his voice still all growls.

"You went berserk, probably because of the tainted jewel shard."

He barely seemed to hear her, too focused was he on her wounds, his eyebrows crunching down hard into a fierce frown while his eyes glowed briefly from the intense emotions surging through him.

Knowing they had no time to waste, she struggled back to her feet, ignoring his protests, and said, "We have to get going Inuyasha. We don't have much time."

Gritting his teeth, he nodded, turning and presenting his back to her so she could climb aboard. He hesitated, and gingerly, almost tentatively reached around and very, very carefully grabbed her high on her thighs with his taloned hands, above the acid burns.

"Where is he?" He growled simply, the reverb of the deep sound vibrating her chest.

She sat up straighter and focused, knowing he would be with the jewel. It was difficult, since the power of the jewel seemed to thrum from every direction all at once, laced as it was throughout this giant body, but after a moment of intent searching, she finally was able to pinpoint the location.

"There!" She pointed, and Inuyasha nodded, setting off down the hall.

Knowing that the others would be unable to find it, Kagome used the time on Inuyasha's back as he was running, to try and figure out a way to set up some sort of beacon, something, anything that the rest of their comrades could follow. After a moment, a simple thought struck her, and she nearly laughed at the perfect simplicity of it. She would simply shoot an arrow at the jewel, using her power to make an arrow disappear and then reappear at its intended target.

Unslinging her bow, she brought it up, loading a physical arrow this time, one that wouldn't shatter upon impact, and took aim. She wanted to aim for a little bit above the jewel, figuring it was probably within Naraku's body and that the arrow would land in him instead of the jewel.

Taking a deep breath she focused.

Target acquired.

Locked on.

Fire.

She loosed the arrow and it winked out of existence right before hitting the bend in the tunnel they were coming up on. With a reverb she could feel through her body, she sensed when it hit, the walls around them shivering a little. The jewel pulsed, the curtain obscuring it rising up a bit and exposing its location temporarily. She knew that their comrades would be able to not only sense the jewel, but also the spiritual power than came from her arrow which would act as a beacon.

Inuyasha veered from the tunnel, drawing his sword and slashed through the upcoming wall.

Kagome dug her knees further into his sides, above his hips as he released her leg with one hand to wield the Tessaiga. Thankfully, through plenty of practice, she had gained good muscles in her legs that allowed her to ride him like this, even with no hands to support her if necessary, and could even get away with just using her legs if she needed her own arms for her bow. She had piggy-backed on him so much, that the movements of his body were almost second nature to her now.

Shortly after, the power signal of her arrow was snuffed out, undoubtedly by Naraku pulling it from his body and probably crushing it in his fist or under a boot.

She waited a moment, drew another arrow, and fired, the projectile once again disappearing into a nearby wall. The arrow hit her target somewhere deeper in the beast, the walls shaking even more this time.

Kagome rested her hands on Inuyasha's shoulders again, one still holding her bow, and settled her weight, trying to relieve her legs of the strain some. They were shooting with agony now, her badly burned flesh cracking and bleeding as she used them to grip onto Inuyasha's waist. Her wounds on her torso were no fun either. She winced, trying to shove the pain to the back of her mind.

She simply couldn't afford it right now. It was do, or die time.

It was up to them, if they couldn't stop this monster, the whole world would come crashing down, killing everyone they cared about. Kaede, Shippō, the villagers, everyone they had ever met on the road, not to mention it would undoubtedly also cause damage to Kagome's own time. Her grandfather, mother, brother, Bunto, all her friends, all her classmates and teachers, everyone she knew and cared about…they may never even get born if Naraku had his way and destroyed the world in this time period. Heck, even she may disappear.

They had to stop him, no matter the consequences.

And so, she focused, shooting arrow after arrow as he pulled them free, each one seeming to do a little more damage, or perhaps that was just hopeful thinking on her part, but it seemed that with every shot the jewel grew a little less tainted and the demon body shook a little harder. Soon, Inuyasha was carving his way there, giving up entirely on following the paths already in the flesh. They passed through bloody archway after bloody archway, dark demon blood dripping onto their clothes, skin, and hair, and stinging them wherever it landed.

Finally, they burst out of the last wall, and entered into an enormous auditorium sort of set up. It was huge, and Kagome vaguely had the notion that it might be within the enormous, bulbous backside of the spider. And in the center of the room, suspended in a nasty flesh web, hung Naraku.

No sooner had they arrived than a mild explosion blasted from the floor, making Inuyasha and Kagome slide back a step. Up from the floor came a spitting mad wolf demon, who promptly barked, "It's about fucking time! Goddam those halls."

Inuyasha and Kagome just stared at him, a bit shocked he had arrived so soon.

The next arrivals prevented any conversation, as the wall across from them was slashed, and then slashed again making a giant X, through which busted a giant cat and boy in a burst of flame, claws, teeth, and chain scythe.

"Sango! Is she here?" Kohaku called, and barely moments later was answered by his sister, who was coming out of the one tunnel entering the room, Miroku staggering along next to her and looking rather pale but very determined.

The only other entrance was blocked by some sort of flesh door, but that was summarily slashed open in a shower of yellow sparks as a telltale glowing gold whip like structure lashed out. The remaining blockage was summarily burned to a toasty crisp, and out strolled Sesshomaru, Rin, and Jaken riding Aa-Oon.

Everyone else blinked at the unexpected arrivals, and Inuyasha instantly began sputtering curses under his breath, which caused Kagome to lightly pinch his ear and turn his head back towards Naraku with her firm grip on the fluffy appendage.

There was a slight pause as everyone assessed everyone else, and then almost in unison turned to look at Naraku. Not much was said before everyone attacked, only a yell of, "NARAKU" which came from Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku all at once, while the calmer voice of Sesshomaru saying, "You will pay for your insolence," was nearly drowned out.

Kilala and Aa-Oon roared, and everyone leaped in to attack at once, which turned out to be a rather messy affair.

Kohaku swung his chain scythe, hit Naraku's red barrier, and the weapon was bounced back, nearly chopping off his ear. He managed to dodge, only sustaining a nasty cut instead of actually losing the shell of his hearing appendage, but he and Kilala fell back for a second to regroup. Sango had better luck; her Hiraikotsu cut through a good number of his web flesh things. As it spun through the air it left a trail of red poison, empowered by the drunken sage's potion that it had sat in when it had been dissolved.

Koga came in with his new metal claw weapon, tearing through some of the web in a shower of lightning sparks, but in the end was rebuffed by Naraku's shield as well. He then had to dodge Jaken as a blast of flame came from the goblin's staff, nearly cooking the wolf demon in the process.

"Hey, watch it!" he barked, skidding back and patting a few tongues of flame out from his fur.

Jaken was too nervous to respond, his whole body looking like it was vibrating atop the two-headed dragon, but a fierce expression was fixed to his face and he wielded his staff with a nearly maniacal laugh, which was probably covering screams.

Inuyasha meanwhile sent an adamantine barrage flying at Naraku, which mostly bounced off his apparently much tougher shield than last time, but a few managed to put some cracks in it. Kagome followed up his attack with a barrage of her spirit arrows, aiming them at the cracks he had made.

And then they were all outshined by an exceptionally flashy awakening of Sesshomaru's new sword, which he unsheathed from his waist. Kagome of course wondered immediately if this was the reforged Tenseiga, the one she had overheard Totosai talking to him about after their last battle. Whatever it was, the whole blade seemed to dissolve in a shower of sparks, and the hilt flew out of his hands, spinning through the air as a crack of thunder seemed to shake the entire inside of the spider, lightning shooting down to hit the dog-demon, the energy coalescing on his severed shoulder. They all watched, mouths agape as a new arm seemed to form, and then his brand new hand grabbed the hilt that had been airborne before, and the blade reformed, wielded by his reformed arm.

He took this all in stride, and calmly turned, assessing Naraku, before wielding his brand new sword. It sent a bang of evil looking green energy at the black haired demon, hitting a good number of the spider web flesh things, and whatever it touched appeared to almost instantly turn black, seeming to immediately rot away and die, the blackness then slowly spreading without apparently having any intention of stopping. Naraku instantly detached those stalks and let them flop to the ground, where they melted into a disgusting black puddle of atrophied flesh.

After a few more moments of stunned stillness, they were all shook back into awareness as Naraku retaliated, sending out blast after blast of insanely dark and powerful energy waves, like a canon of pure nasty, blasting them all onto their asses, some of them even thrown through the air to flip toes over teakettle. Dense clouds of miasma also began to flood the room, and Miroku unsheathed his wind tunnel, sucking it all up.

As soon as the air was clean he capped his hand with his prayer beads and collapsed to his knees with a pained cry, Sango instantly darting to his side to help support him. He seemed to be in a bad state, and Inuyasha, Kagome, and Kilala with Kohaku instantly began gravitating to help shield their downed comrade. They could all hear a really terrifying windy sound coming from him, and kept a safe distance, but distracted Naraku from him.

Kohaku swung his scythe again, going after the web this time and severing several of them before having to dodge an attack. Meanwhile, Inuyasha absorbed the next blast of energy with his dragon scale Tessaiga, and then reflected it and sent it back, nearly crisping Jaken in the process.

Sesshomaru began swinging his blade around, cutting swaths of destruction into the surrounding flesh, apparently deciding that setting a slow-motion rot into motion in the giant spider body would weaken the enemy. It was a brilliant move, and instantly set Naraku's attention on him, and had the side bonus of distracting the demon, which gave the others various openings through which they could all attack.

Kilala managed to crack his barrier, through which Kohaku tried to get his scythe, but failed. Inuyasha and Kagome continued to batter him from the other side, occasionally managing to get through and make actual physical damage, but even then he just regenerated instantly. It seemed to be a downhill battle, Naraku's regenerative abilities, shielding abilities, and powerful attacks creating a triple threat that even gave Sesshomaru a run for his money. It didn't help when Naraku called tentacles and/or spikes from the not yet rotten parts of the walls at random intervals.

Kagome interspersed using her arrows of blood with her demon energy and her purifying arrows with her priestess energy, noticing that they had different effects on him and his shield. But the pain and injuries she was suffering from was greatly draining her reserves, and she was having trouble keeping up. In fact, they all seemed to be running low on energy, aside from Sesshomaru who as always barely looked ruffled.

Sending blast after blast of evil energy at them, Naraku managed to beat them all to a bloody pulp, not that they were exactly fresh as daisies when they got there to begin with.

It wasn't until Naraku made one fatal mistake, that the tables finally turned.

In a dual blast he managed to get Sesshomaru on one side, sending him flying. He actually hit the wall of the giant spider cave thing they were all currently stuck in, and Rin, who was still clinging to his weird furry whatsit that he always wore, took the worst damage as a spike randomly poked through the wall and got her.

Similarly Inuyasha got hit as well and was sent flying with Kagome and they also smashed into the wall, and just like Rin, Kagome received a nasty injury in the form of a spike of flesh. It was a carefully timed attack that hit them both with disastrous results.

Kagome coughed and Inuyasha spun to catch her as she winced and slid from his back. The spike had thankfully not hit her anywhere fatal from what she could tell, but it still hurt badly and made her already low spirits and energy sink through the floor.

"How are we going to…" she whispered, looking up at him almost in despair.

It was then…when all seemed for naught, that something happened.

Suddenly, all sounds began to leak away from Kagome, until all she could hear was her heart beating in her chest. Slowly, a warmth began to burn there, in the spot where something had been placed back when they had visited the underworld. That same pulsating ball of light slowly began to come to life within her, beating to the rhythm of her heart and growing stronger by the second, until her whole chest was glowing.

Inuyasha stared, his eyes wide and words that she couldn't hear spilling from his lips as the glow grew brighter, encompassing him as well, and there it stuck, seeming to transfer over to him. A pulse resounded, coming from him now, and he gasped as power suddenly flooded from him, the way it did when he turned fully demonic. His eyes glowed, his hair lifted in the unnatural wind, and he choked as it seemed to overwhelm him.

Inuyasha dropped to the ground in front of Kagome.

Gasping, Kagome scooted closer to the now writhing Inuyasha, placing a hand on his shoulder to try and stabilize him. "Inuyasha! Inuyasha! Are you okay? Talk to me! Please!" She begged, lightly jostling his shoulder. She got no response from him, only groans and snarls.

She was so focused on Inuyasha, she failed to feel the pulses of power coming from across the room.

Inuyasha was now kneeling and with a loud pained grunt tried to stand. He staggered and then a deep snarl lit his throat, and she flinched, thinking he might have gone fully demonic again. And then he convulsed, a roar coming from his chest.

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha are you…?!" She gasped, her grip on his shoulder nearly dislodged as his whole body heaved forwards in a great lurching motion.

He was still a demon, but now he was actually changing into one, like Sesshomaru could do. Kagome watched, mouth agape as his face changed, growing longer. She was struck dumb and didn't move when she should have. She gasped and yelped as his body expanded, taking her with it. It was so fast she barely knew what had happened. As a burst of steam seemed to rise off him, he suddenly grew much bigger, his body turning white and furry. And Kagome was brought along for the ride. She suddenly found herself astride a very broad furry back and she grabbed fistfuls of white mane.

She let loose with a scream, terrified and not at all sure what the hell was going on. Inuyasha's massive head swiveled on his neck, looking at her over his shoulder. She froze, worried he wouldn't recognize her. He only blinked at her and snarled in a deep voice, "Hold on tight."

"Inuyasha?! You're still in there?"

"Guess so…" He growled, sounding feral.

She wasn't entirely convinced but gripped his fur tightly, watching as his pointed wolf like ears swiveled towards Naraku, who looked downright shocked.

Now that she was looking, she noticed that not only had Inuyasha shockingly transformed, but Sesshomaru had also taken his fully demonic form, his enormous dog-like body the same size as Inuyasha's, only with floppy ears instead of fluffy pointed ones. They had a stare off for a second, and then both turned to Naraku. Rin was still atop Sesshomaru's back, bloody but apparently still capable of clinging to him, or else just unwilling to let him go.

Kagome could feel Inuyasha's muscles bunching up under her and she tightened her thighs, knowing he was about to leap. Sure enough, he launched forwards, flying through the air so fast Kagome crouched down tight on his back and buried her face in his fur to not get thrown off. She could hear everyone else exclaiming from the sidelines, but only barely over the rush of air in her ears.

He was so fast, too fast, much too fast. It was all she could do to stay on him. She could feel the power of him underneath her, and was very glad that he at least seemed to be somewhat sentient. If she was against him in this form, he could tear her to shreds quite easily. There was no way she could ever fight against him like this. Naraku likewise seemed pretty perturbed, particularly when Kilala roared from above and Koga kicked into high gear below, lightning cracking from his claw like weapon. He was surrounded now.

Sesshomaru attacked first, his claws on his newly regenerated sword arm shockingly seemed to still hold the powers of his sword, as his claws on that paw glowed with the green lightning as he hit and sliced through nearly all the rest of Naraku's web like structure, forcing him to break free and float into the air in his ball of red shield. Inuyasha hit next, having to maneuver around his brother since their enormous bodies had made the previously massive space seem a bit cramped now. As Kagome leaned slightly to the side, she noticed that Inuyasha's claws were also changing, turning red like the red Tessaiga as he slashed at the barrier, making long cracks run through it, and then finally breaking through to land a hit. But instantly, hard demon scale armor appeared on Naraku's skin, deflecting the blow.

Despite these powerful attacks, Kagome knew the only way to truly defeat him would be to purify the jewel, otherwise he would just regenerate, as they had already seen time and time again.

"Inuyasha…" She managed to grunt through her teeth, still clinging to him as he flung himself at Naraku. After another vicious claw strike and an adamantine barrage that was shot from glassy crystalline claws, he backed off for a second, standing in the air near the ceiling like Kilala.

"What?" He snarled back at her, his voice all growl.

She gulped. "I need a clear shot at him. I can purify the jewel and that will destroy him, but not with his shield up and not with that armor. My arrow won't penetrate it."

He nodded his huge head. "Got it."

Once again she found herself clinging for her life. He leaped into the fray, dodging past Kilala and under a strike by Sesshomaru, and the sharp motions nearly dislodged Kagome. Her legs were aching with how hard she had to squeeze them to stay on and her fingers were cramping from her tight grip in his ruff. Her injuries were protesting loudly and she didn't know how much longer she could last.

The only way she was going to survive this battle was if she could somehow learn his movements, learn how to sync her own body to his so she wouldn't fly off. She needed to be like Sango and Kilala. She had seen Sango fighting from on top of Kilala under the most strenuous circumstances and they looked almost like one creature with how synced up they were to each other's movements. She didn't have the years of time to acclimate herself to Inuyasha's new body like Kilala and Sango had had, but she could use the knowledge she already had of Inuyasha. She had ridden piggy back on him for the past year or more, and had gotten so good at it that she could shoot her bow from his back with ease, even when he was flying through the air and dodging the enemy.

She closed her eyes, trusting Inuyasha to keep them safe and fight for them. The size of him threw her off, but she concentrated on him, and only him, laying her body flush against his back and pressing herself to him as tightly as she could, until she could hear his breathing and his heartbeat. As she listened to the rhythms of his body, somehow it felt familiar, his breathing pattern, his heart, it was all the same, and suddenly she started to link his muscle movement with the way he moved in his other body. Sure he was on all fours now, and was flying, but it wasn't unlike when he ran on two feet. He had the same gait almost, just with an extra jolt for his front paws. His body stretched and retracted more as he ran too, but that was something she could adjust to. She had been atop him when he had dashed through the trees using both his hands and feet before, and it wasn't dissimilar to that.

She slowly gained her balance as she matched her body to his, as she acknowledged the new ways he moved and combined them with the old. After only a minute or two she opened her eyes and sat up, feeling more at ease.

He was faster now, so she had to lean into his movements more to compensate for the force, but once she got that she was able to sit up a bit more and watched the battle from atop his back. He glanced over his furry shoulder as he felt her shift and her grip on him loosen.

She smiled. "I'm ready when you are."

He gave her back a wolfish grin, all fangs, and she shivered at the slightly frightening sight. The fear was replaced with humor though as a giant pink tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth.

His head swung back around and he lunged forwards. She jerked, not anticipating it, but soon regained her balance and steadied herself on him once again. He attacked, no holds barred, alongside Kohaku who was atop Kilala - Sango and Miroku having taken shelter in a nearby tunnel for this part of the fight - and they worked around Sesshomaru who was flying under his own power, while Koga kept up a constant barrage of attacks from the ground. Naraku was hard pressed to fight them all off at once, and eventually under the barrage, Inuyasha's red claws pierced his shield and instantly transformed into his adamantine claws as they slashed against his chest armor. The armor held, but everyone focused at that spot now. Kohaku's chain scythe chipped away at it, and Inuyasha's claws battered it with his strongest and sharpest attack - the adamantine claws. Sesshomaru didn't deign to join them, instead he attacked from the back and clamped his powerful jaws over Naraku's head, holding him still as the rest of them battered him, and rot slowly began to spread through the demon's body, though he seemed to just sluff off chunks to get rid of it.

Kagome pulled off her fang necklace and bound it to the hilt of her bow, then combined her powers and using the blood from her injuries she sent barrage after barrage of blood arrows blasting against the cracked spot in his armor, holding onto Inuyasha with her burned legs.

Soon cracks appeared, and Kagome laid off the barrage, instead drawing a physical arrow for more power and packed it with every ounce of spiritual energy she possessed. She made sure to keep the arrow clean of any demonic energy, but packed the bow with it to propel the arrow harder and faster. She continued using her legs to hold herself steady on Inuyasha as he moved back and forth, trying to get a clean shot. His claws landed on the chest plate, alongside Kohaku's weapon, and Kilala's claws, and the armor finally cracked and then exploded.

Knowing they wouldn't have much time, Kagome took her aim and shot her arrow. It flew and hit him right over the jewel, and then pierced that too, pushed even faster by a wind scar Inuyasha unleashed from glowing yellow claws right after she fired. With an unearthly scream Naraku jerked back and writhed once again, struggling to keep the jewel defiled. It was no use though, with a flash of light the jewel was purified and then split apart, sending jewel shards flying in every direction.

It was a familiar sight, like the most impressive firework display Kagome had ever seen. Both she and Inuyasha groaned as they took in the little flashes of light flying through the flesh of the spider and undoubtedly out into the sky, going every which way again.

The force of the exploding jewel ripped Naraku's body to shreds, and with an awful screech he finally perished, his many bloody shreds of body falling to land lifelessly beneath like the grossest rain possible. The spider body began to break apart, which meant they all had to get out of here stat, or risk getting buried in an avalanche of rotten dead flesh. Inuyasha dashed over to Sango and Miroku, and Kagome helped hoist them up onto his fury back, and they all made a beeline for the exit, Koga hopping up onto them as well, grumbling loudly under his breath about how Inuyasha smelled even worse in this form.

A giant chunk of flesh careened down and nearly tossed Kilala and Kohaku back down, but they were snagged by Jaken and Aa-Oon as they passed, and Inuyasha broke through the flesh, clearing their path as they were dragged by the two headed reptile a ways until Kilala regained her flight. The two largest creatures, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, took the lead, batting aside and tearing apart the flesh and clearing a way for their comrades as they finally broke through the ceiling and out into blessedly fresh air.

They landed on the ground, looking back at the gory, bloody mess.

Miroku made the first move, hurrying to unwrap his hand and then exclaimed and showed everyone his hole-less palm. Sango practically burst into tears from happiness and to everyone's shock actually kissed him in front of them all, rather passionately in fact, before breaking away and turning bright pink.

Sesshomaru likewise took in the sight of their fallen enemy, slowly transforming back into his human form and cradling Rin to his chest before wordlessly turning and walking away. It wasn't exactly an unexpected parting, but Kagome hoped he would take the girl to Kaede to heal.

After a minute of silent staring, Kagome began to feel tremors shaking the enormous dog body beneath her. She laid a concerned hand on Inuyasha's neck and felt his pulse beating wildly out of control. "Inuyasha! Hey, are you okay?"

He groaned and a convulsion shook his frame. Kagome gasped, sliding off his back and staggering her way around to his front. She placed her hands on either side of his huge head, and his red eyes opened, staring at her for a brief moment before rolling back into his scull as another seizure grabbed ahold of him, dragging him to the ground. He lay twitching and writhing, gut wrenching whimpers ripped from his throat.

"Shit! Inuyasha!"

The others crowded closer, and Inuyasha's eyes snapped open. A vicious snarl crawled up his throat and he bared his teeth at their friends. They backed off immediately, looking both terrified and worried.

"Just give us some space for a minute, until Inuyasha is back to his old self." Kagome called to them.

"Are you sure it's safe for you to be so close to him?" Sango called back, obviously worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry."

The others respected her decision and backed off even more, watching from a good distance of twenty feet or more.

Kagome turned her attention back to Inuyasha, petting his head gently. He moaned in pain and nuzzled his huge nose against her thigh. Another shiver passed through him, and then with a horrific snapping and cracking sound he began to shrink, his body twisting and contorting as his muscles rippled and writhed over his breaking bones. Kagome gasped and scrambled to hold his transforming head as he flopped around like a beached whale. It didn't take too long, but it was long enough to make Kagome sick to her stomach, hurting so much for him that she wanted to lose her lunch. She held back the bile though, figuring that having vomit launched over him wouldn't make him feel any better.

It looked agonizing, and it left him clammy and shaking, sweat dripping off his face and making his white hair wet. Amazingly his clothes had survived, although how she didn't quite know. She would have thought they would be torn off of him when he transformed. But she spared no time thinking about that or wondering at the odd mechanics of demonic transformation.

She gently lifted his head into her lap, holding him as he calmed down. After a few minutes his eyes cracked open and he looked up at her with his red and gold eyes.

Kagome sucked in a deep breath, unnerved by his intense gaze. He didn't seem all himself yet. He had shifted back to his normal form, but she noted his still too long fangs and the talons tipping his fingers. He flipped out of her grip before she could really decide what she should do about this new development. She assumed he would be back to normal, but he was far from it. He jerked back, crouching in a feral pose, a constant growl coming from his throat.

His clawed hands went to his head and held it as if he was in a great deal of pain, curling further into himself. And then he shook his head from side to side, snarls spilling from his lips as he tossed his head. And then he went on all fours and heaved, spitting up blood.

Kagome dashed forwards, not concerned about him being feral. "Inuyasha!"

When she got close, his head lurched up and he pinned her with a look. She skidded to a halt at that look, and suddenly she realized that he was suffering since, as a half-demon, he probably wasn't meant to make a transformation like that. It seemed that glowing ball had given him that power, but he needed something else to normalize him afterwards, something that Sesshomaru didn't need. The answer came to her, almost as if whispered to her from someone else.

"You're blood."

It made sense, after all it had always snapped him out of it before, and he had mentioned that there was power in blood. Maybe it would help to balance him. Giving him her blood normally would be just fine, but under the circumstances she was afraid he might bite her throat out.

He seemed to have caught scent of her, and it had knocked him out of whatever pain had him in its grasp. Specifically he was looking at the blood smearing her chest and stomach and her bloody burned legs.

He slowly stood, grimacing as he did. Kagome stood still, trembling faintly as he approached. She couldn't help but be a little afraid of him.

"Ka-Kagome…run. I…I can't control my body. I might hurt you." He groaned, shuddering.

"I can't! I think you need my blood to snap out of it!"

"I'll be fine Kagome…just…GET AWAY FROM ME!" He roared, his voice coming out utterly animal by the end of it.

His eyes shifted to glowing teal inside the glowing red and his fangs inched longer. She hissed and backed up a bit as he made a move towards her. With his frightening words and his suddenly aggressive moves she was helpless to control her flight instinct for a brief moment. She turned and fled, but soon tears had blinded her and made it difficult to see where she was going.

She could hear him in hot pursuit. A glance behind her confirmed that he was nearly on top of her, and also function to make her trip over a rock, sending her skidding across the ground painfully. She had a brief glance of the others running towards them, and she threw her arm out, yelling, "No stay back!"

Her view was blocked by Inuyasha as he landed on top of her. She grunted at the harsh impact, sucking in a deep breath and trying not to panic. His clawed hands had a dangerous grasp on her waist and she froze, holding very still as she felt those long talons scratching her skin. His grip was tight enough as it was to already be painfully uncomfortable, but she knew if she moved at all he wouldn't hesitate to dig those claws into her to hold her still. So she held still for him. His head lowered and he sniffed her neck, then lower, moving across her collarbones and shoulders and down to her chest where he had slashed her earlier.

A snarl ripped out of him and she flinched. Sure enough those hands tightened a little, just enough to warn her to be still, and she froze. Even so she wasn't able to stay completely silent and still when his mouth opened and those vicious fangs of his sunk into the fabric of her shirt, ripping it down the middle and exposing the bloody gash and a good deal of her front. She was just glad he didn't rip her bra clean off as well and that it stayed covering her breasts.

Still it was embarrassing, even under the circumstances, but she was too scared to flush since her face was pale with fright. She shivered as she felt him lick the top of the wound that started on the inner curve of one breast and then skipped a bit before carving down across her ribs and upper stomach. He stayed on the portion that was on her chest, probably because it was the first blood he got to. At the first taste a growl popped out of his throat, and then he bit down on her, over the wound. She cut off the cry of pain that wanted to come out of her mouth. It hurt, quite a bit in fact, and she found herself scrambling desperately at the fang necklace she had tied back around her neck with the hope that the pain would ease if she shifted to her demon body. She finally managed to remove it and groaned in relief as the pain did indeed immediately ease. Her blood recognized him and made it easier on her, flooding her brain with feel-good chemicals. She let her head thunk back on the ground, gasping for air she hadn't even realized she had been holding. Without the agony the bite was fine and she found herself relaxing.

Strangely, now it almost felt good. It still hurt, especially since it was already over a wound in such a sensitive area, but much less, and the longer he bit her the more it throbbed with something else. She had felt something similar with his other bites, and soon she did flush, her fear dying out enough to let the blush rise to her cheeks. It seemed his saliva was healing the wound over which he bit, and that was leaving her with more of the other feelings than the pain.

She glanced down to see if he was done yet and he must have felt the movement because his eyes flashed up to meet hers. He was probably judging whether she was about to run from him again, but he must have found something different in her eyes. His tense gaze relaxed and instead heated somewhat, the intensity shifting. She gulped, not super happy about his mood shift. This was a situation that was quickly moving into one she didn't want to have to explain to the others.

That became a very real possibility as Inuyasha bit harder, forcing a sound from her that was thankfully impossible to tell the difference between being pain or pleasure.

"Kagome! Are you okay?" Someone called, and for the life of her she couldn't bring herself to figure out which one it was. Her brain was quickly turning to mush.

"Yeah! Everything's just…" she grunted as a rumble against her chest ran through the rest of her body. "Yep. Just fine. Stay over there. Please."

She knew her voice sounded weird, but she really couldn't help it.

OTHER'S POV

They had no idea what was going on or what they should do about it. As soon as Inuyasha had changed back he seemed to go for Kagome, as if he was attacking her. Sango and Miroku had wanted to fight him off, but Kilala had seemed to urge them to wait, and with Kagome shouting at them to stay away, they were left on the sidelines, watching as he pounced on her.

When he ripped her shirt Miroku's eyebrows rose. "Well…it seems he at least doesn't want to kill her."

"Are you kidding?! It looks like he's about to eat her practically." Sango muttered darkly, squeezing Hiraikotsu with a death grip.

Miroku snorted. "I agree, though I doubt she would mind."

"Wha-?" Sango glanced at him frowning, and got a slightly lecherous smirk in reply. Sango flushed bright red when she got an inkling of what Miroku was talking about.

"Miroku! Now is not the time for your perverted jokes!"

"He doesn't look like he wants to hurt her Sango, it looks like he's bitten her, but that's it." Kohaku noted, glaring at Miroku for good measure, not enthused by the sound of what he was saying.

Sango paused, looking back to the scene. Truthfully Kagome no longer looked like she was upset by what was going on, in fact, if her flushed face was any judge it didn't even look like what Inuyasha was doing was particularly painful. She thought about it for a bit, and came to the conclusion that, for whatever reason, he needed her blood after transforming. Why, she didn't know, but it was the only thing she could think of.

When she voiced her idea Koga nodded, scowling fiercely and growling. "Yeah. As a weak half demon he wouldn't have been able to transform like that without a power boost. That would have caused the demon and human portions inside him to get all out of whack, the blood out of balance with each other. Maybe there's something in her blood that's helping him to calm down, to rebalance his own demon and human essences."

So saying, he huffed and walked away stiffly, apparently not wanting to stick around any longer to watch. To him, watching Kagome was fine, more than fine actually, and he would have been happy to stay and look at her flushed face, but the fact that it was the mutt who was causing it made him pissy. So he left in a whirlwind as per usual, to go and find his pack who he had left behind to fight Naraku. It was finally time for him to return home.

Meanwhile, Kagome had almost forgotten about their audience, and certainly had forgotten about Koga, but she still possessed enough awareness of them that she was super happy when Inuyasha finally pulled back. He withdrew his teeth but stayed to lap at the spilled blood and the already almost healed wound, even going down to clean the wound on her stomach. Then he looked up at her, his eyes slowly changing back to normal, and then drooping as if he was falling asleep.

"Ka-go-me?" He asked weakly and then passed out on top of her.

* * *

Author's Note:

Yay! The final epic battle is done! Whooop! I hope it lived up to everyone's expectations.

Never fear there will be a couple more chapters after this, after all there are weddings and matings and all the aftermath and such to deal with. :D Expect a lot of fluff, humor, and lemons coming your way. ;)


	26. Chapter 26

With Naraku dead, one would have thought things would become easy, a piece of cake, fun times for all, but no…

As they quickly found out, there was a surplus of demons that had been hiding or suppressed by Naraku's demon aura, even when he had been hiding out in the mountain. With him truly gone it was party time for them. There were demons everywhere, attacking all the villages, and suddenly it was quite busy as they worked to clean up the mess that had been made.

The other thing that kept them busy was regathering the twice shattered jewel, a task that was made even more difficult since it shattered even more thoroughly this time around. The plan was to reform it, and then Kagome would hold onto it to keep it purified for a time until they found a strong enough hiding place for it, or found a way to dispose of it. They weren't entirely sure that it needed to be completely reformed either, there was some speculation that a few shards could be kept separate and they could experiment with some of the more beneficial properties of the jewel. Or, they could just gather all the shards together and then separate them and hand them out amongst the most powerful monks and priestesses of the land for safe keeping.

To be honest, they hadn't decided entirely on what to do about it, but the first order of business was to gather as much of it as they could, as quickly as possible. It was already making things tedious by making uber-powerful demons pop up as they got ahold of the shards.

Despite the irritating amount of work they now had, some things definitely did change for the better with Naraku's death.

For one, Miroku's wind tunnel had healed and the curse lifted.

As promised, he and Sango got married almost immediately, as soon as they had both healed from the final battle.

Before the marriage, Sango had disappeared for about a week, saying that it was a secret and not telling anyone her purpose. While she was gone, they staked out all the flower fields nearby.

Once she returned, preparations set about in earnest, and they picked tons of flowers, making wreaths and garlands that they draped in front of the shrine where they planned to get married.

Then, the day before, Kagome and Sango set off to prep the bride for the wedding. Sango insisted on purifying herself under a waterfall, wearing a traditional white hakama, and then Kagome anointed her with various oils and incense, before they drank some ceremonial tea. It was all very precise and meaningful, and then Kagome and Kaede assisted Sango into an absolutely gorgeous marriage kimono, which she revealed was the reason for her disappearance. She had flown back to her village on Kilala, where she had stored a chest full of the few belongings that had been spared the ravages of the demon attack. Her mother's wedding kimono had magically been saved, and she had gone to collect it.

Kaede, to Kagome's surprise, turned out to be rather cheeky, and gently teased Sango about her wedding night, along with asking some shockingly blunt questions, probably wanting to make sure Sango was truly okay with it all. Kagome joined in quickly, though she blushed and giggled slightly as she did so.

"Are ye prepared for laying with Miroku?" was the first question out of the old priestess's mouth, which started the whole conversation.

Sango's response was of course to go completely red and sputter a bit, like an engine trying to rev and failing spectacularly.

Kagome said, both seriously and jokingly, "Oh don't worry Sango…this is _Miroku_ we're talking about. I'm sure he'll know what he's doing. You'll probably have a _great_ time."

That incurred more spluttering, and a rather amused grin to briefly grace Kaede's lips, before she quickly hid it. Going to a slightly safer topic, she asked, "Do ye wish for children right away or would ye like me to prepare herbs for contraception?"

Sango calmed somewhat and seemed to think about it for a moment. "I…I would like children. But for the moment, I think it would be best to abstain until things are more secure."

Kaede nodded. "Tis a wise choice. Ye know of course that Miroku has already started on building a homestead for ye two here in the village. So ye would want to wait at least until that is finished."

"Yes. Of course."

Kagome piped up. "Uh, so where will they stay in the meantime? I mean…where are they going to spend their _wedding night_?" She emphasized the two last words, wanting her two best friends to have somewhere comfortable to do the deed. If it was her, she sure as heck wouldn't want to consummate her relationship with Inuyasha in the barn or something.

Kaede smiled again, while Sango blushed, and she responded with, "They can use the spare hut we have used to lock up Inuyasha…"

"You mean when he's hurt and won't freaking stay put?" Kagome finished, remembering the small, single roomed building that they had indeed locked Inuyasha up in with sutras.

"The very same."

"Ah. Makes sense."

Sango was still blushing bright red, and Kagome couldn't seem to stop teasing her, gently of course. "You of course know what happens between a man and a woman right Sango?"

It was a silly question, and one just designed to tick off the demon slayer.

"Of _course_!" She spat, glaring at Kagome with a slightly offended look.

"Really? You sure? Because Miroku is very experienced after all…I'm pretty sure he's gonna surprise you somehow." Kagome continued with a leer worthy of said monk.

Sango only blushed harder. " _Kagome_!" She protested, her voice a little higher pitched and squeaky.

Turning to Kaede, Kagome asked her mock-seriously, "Of course you have prepared herbs to tend to Miroku's injuries afterwards? Undoubtedly he'll come out of there with permanent dents in his head from Hiraikotsu and slap marks that won't go away."

Kaede hid her smile quickly and nodded back just as seriously. "Oh, aye. Indeed."

"Would you stop?!"

The two other women laughed at the fuming demon slayer.

Soon enough, the big day was upon them. Kaede proceeded over the small village ceremony, and overall it was exceptionally lovely. Kilala, Kohaku, and Miroku's Tanuki demon friend Hachi all assisted in the ceremony.

Both Sango and Miroku seemed so blissful, and it made Kagome incredibly happy, and perhaps just a tiny bit jealous as she watched.

Afterwards, there was sake and celebrations, during which Kagome caught Miroku sneaking a good number of gropes on his new bride, which were met with the familiar slap to the cheek and angry protest from said woman. Kagome couldn't help but notice however, that the slaps didn't leave marks, and must have been quite light. She couldn't help but smile at how Sango had rather gruffly accepted his advances. The demon slayer put up a front, but didn't seem opposed to them anymore. If anything, she looked exceptionally happy, if bright red with embarrassment.

Kohaku, on the other hand, still didn't take kindly to it, though he refrained himself from attacking as he had before. But Kagome saw him pull Miroku off to the side at one point, and highly suspected that he was giving the older man the traditional, "if you hurt my sister I will kill you in highly inventive and painful ways," speech.

Everything wound down after a few hours of celebration, and the happy couple adjourned to the little hut where they would be spending their wedding night. Kagome and Kaede had spent some time earlier cleaning it up, putting down a fresh futon, placing flowers around, and generally making it as lovely and romantic as possible for them.

Later that night, Kagome and Inuyasha were sitting together outside under a tree. And Kagome rather hesitantly brought up the thought that had been sparked in her mind after the day's proceedings. "Uh…Inuyasha?"

"Huh?" He hummed, his ears swiveling before his head turned and he focused his golden gaze on her, curious.

"Would…would you ever, uh, wanna do that?"

"Do what?"

"You know…get married!" Kagome sighed, slightly exasperated with his denseness and having to say it so explicitly.

His eyes blinked and widened slightly, then his head cocked as he said, "Sure. I guess. I mean I already basically consider us married, even if we aren't fully mated yet, so it doesn't matter to me."

Kagome rolled her eyes a little. "Well, it matters to me. I mean, I'd like to actually have a ceremony before…uh…mating."

Inuyasha's ears twitched a bit. "Okay. If it's important to you then we'll do it."

Kagome frowned a bit. "Don't force yourself. If you don't want to, then I don't wanna do something that doesn't matter to you…"

Inuyasha huffed, sounding irritable now as he scowled down at her. "Look, if it matters to you, then it matters to me, it's that fecking simple Kagome."

Kagome almost bristled at his tone, but then realized what he had said and settled down somewhat. "Oh. Okay." She mumbled, turning away, slightly embarrassed for making such a big fuss about it to begin with.

The awkward tension was broken when Inuyasha's ears twitched spastically and then his head swiveled to look off somewhere, a deep snicker rumbling in his chest. The laugh and motion caught Kagome's attention and she turned to look at him curiously. She was even more curious when she noticed the smirk that now graced his lips.

"What is it?"

He snickered again. "Sounds like Miroku and Sango finally got busy."

Kagome gaped at him, then turned pink, then slightly swatted at him, before laughing a little herself and saying, "Well good for them, it's about time."

"Yeah."

They settled in a bit, and Kagome watched as his ears continued to twitch and swivel, apparently still picking up on the sounds of their friends coupling a ways away. Kagome found it both unsettling and also amusing, and watched his face as he attempted to ignore them. He flushed a little and his face moved a bit, sometimes snickering, sometimes grimacing, and after a bit his ears finally lay down on his head and he squinted.

"Damn…Sango's fucking loud. Either she's way more wild in bed than we ever expected, or Miroku's just that good."

Kagome didn't know if she should blush or laugh, and so settled for both, feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed but also amused and happy for the two of them.

"It's probably the second." Kagome muttered, snorting.

Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow at her in question.

"Well I mean, he's got quite the track record." Kagome explained. "He's probably got tons of experience and knows just what to do to…uh…you know, give her a good time…" She finished awkwardly, scratching a non-existent itch on her head in a fidgety manner.

Inuyasha raised both brows and then nodded. "Yeah, probably."

And then a strange expression passed over his face as he frowned, looking almost perturbed now.

"What…what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Oh come on Inuyasha, you look like someone just kicked a puppy or something."

He scowled at her.

"Okay fine, fine, bad analogy. But seriously, what's got you looking so upset all of a sudden?"

His scowl only deepened and he refused to look at her, turning his head to look out into the field and finally heaved an exasperated sigh. "It's…fuck…it's nothing…just leave off, Kagome."

She knew when to back off, so she surrendered the line of questioning.

The thing that was bugging him was insecurity. But like hell was he gonna tell Kagome that.

He sure as fuck didn't want to say that he was suddenly worried about him not being able to please her when they finally did mate. He certainly wasn't sure if he'd be able to make her make the sorts of sounds he currently heard Sango making. Sure, they had done stuff, and he had gotten a few soft moans from her and even fewer, rare loud sounds, mostly when he took her by surprise, but he had never actually done anything to make her orgasm. And from the sounds of it…it seemed that Miroku must definitely have that talent.

If it was experience that made a good lover, he was sorely lacking in that department, only ever doing anything even remotely intimate with Kagome herself - the one or two chaste kisses he had shared with Kikyo not even really counting in his book.

And so, he made up his mind to talk to Miroku about it, even if the humiliation killed him, which he was ninety percent sure would be the result.

And so, he attempted to shut out the disconcerting noises that lasted basically the whole night off and on.

A day or two after that he sought out the priest, visibly creeping him out by wordlessly walking along next to him for a while with no explanation as to his sudden presence. Finally the other male turned to him and fixed him with a rather stern look.

"Inuyasha, there's obviously a reason you're following me, and for you to have not said anything means it's something that is perturbing you, so go ahead and spit out whatever it is you want to say."

Inuyasha could feel the deep scowl etched into his forehead and forced himself to restrain his tongue from automatically spouting insults at the guy. After a few huffs and puffs and deep breaths, he finally managed to say, "I wanted to ask you something."

"Obviously. What might your question entail?"

Inuyasha ground his teeth together, wondering if he could indeed go through with this. He was oblivious to the blush that was slowly but insistently crawling up his neck, setting his cheeks a light pink, but Miroku certainly noticed and it made his eyebrows rise.

"Uh…" He coughed. "I…heard you and Sango the other day." He finally spat, feeling like he was forcibly ejecting the words out of his mouth.

Miroku's brows inched even higher, and then he put two and two together and a slightly smug grin spread across his mouth. "I see."

Finally taking pity on the half-demon, Miroku went into teacher mode. He glanced around to make sure they were alone, which they were, and he set about explaining things to Inuyasha.

"First of all, I'm assuming you do know what happens between a man and a woman, right, Inuyasha?" the monk asked, unknowingly mimicking the teasing Kagome had pestered his new wife with only a few days prior.

All he got was a highly insulted look in reply.

Holding his hands up in a sign of apology, Miroku continued, "Alright, alright! No need to look so scary, Inuyasha! I just had to make sure so that I had somewhere to start."

Inuyasha only rolled his eyes, unimpressed with the explanation.

"Alright, then, shall we begin? First of all, you want to treat her gently, at least to start with. Until you get a sense of what she likes, you don't want to be too rough. Some women like it rougher, others prefer slow and gentle."

Inuyasha nodded, still flushed but taking mental notes as the monk talked. Really though, the being gentle thing seemed pretty obvious. Then again, that might be tough for him, he realized with a grimace, since with all his instincts it would make it more difficult to be as gentle as maybe he needed to be.

Miroku continued talking. "Especially with her first time, you want to be very, very gentle and considerate. After all, you will be breaking her maiden head, and for some women that can be extremely painful."

That got a wince from the half-demon, as he thought about hurting Kagome in such a way.

Miroku, seeing the wince, nodded. "Exactly."

The monk continued on, explaining more about different sorts of things to do at the beginning, to get her comfortable and aroused, and various techniques when it came to foreplay.

"Now, after you have her warmed up and ready for more intimate activities, there's one very important spot for you to be intimately familiar with…"

He proceeded with a highly detailed description of the small, nearly hidden spot that was the seat of most women's pleasure. He even drew a diagram in the sand by their feet to assist in his portrayal of the all-important "hidden pearl" he was attempting to instruct Inuyasha on how to find and how to use properly to sate a woman with.

"It's at the top here…" He pointed with a long stick. "…nearly hidden by this little hood made up of the folds of flesh…"

He went on to instruct on various techniques, how to manipulate this "bead of flesh" to give the most pleasure, all the while Inuyasha grew more and more embarrassed and irritable. He warned about how sensitive it usually was, and that many women needed it to be touched extremely lightly at first.

"And whatever you do, watch those claws of yours! Any cut down there would be utter disaster and agonizing for Kagome!" This was one extremely important point that he impressed upon the half-demon several times. "And if you're using your mouth, be careful of your fangs as well." He added

He also added that it was possible for a woman to orgasm multiple times, unlike men. That got him a curious look from Inuyasha, as he asked rather skeptically, "Wait, human males can only orgasm once? How does that work?"

Miroku sputtered, obviously shocked. "Well…I mean we need some time to recuperate before getting hard again. Isn't it the same for demon males?"

"Uh…like a minute or two maybe…" He said, looking askance at Miroku.

At this, Miroku first looked miffed, but then a slow grin started up and he looked Inuyasha up and down. "Well then, I have much more to tell you. If your stamina is as great as you say, then …"

Miroku then set about trying to turn Inuyasha into something of a disciple of his, going into even greater detail, especially in long sessions and how to keep a girl going even after making her orgasm. It was enough to make Inuyasha's head begin to ache, and he started seriously regretting saying anything at all about demon stamina.

Eventually he had to call it quits, simply because he had heard enough and was feeling like his head may explode. There was too much information, way, way too much information, and the nature of the discussion was finally making his face feel like it was sunburned. Inuyasha could only take the intense blush for so long before it started to piss him off more than he could handle.

He made a quick getaway and hid up in a tree somewhere to try and get his face to cool down. It took some time, but eventually his cheeks resumed their normal coloring, instead of trying to imitate a tomato. In the peace and quiet of his solitary perch, he was able to contemplate the abundance of tips and hints Miroku had given him…sorting through the mass in his head to try and store it in the appropriate places. He didn't want to forget the advice, especially the stuff that seemed like it would be important. Some of it he could disregard, because he and Kagome had already explored that, but there was a lot of stuff he had never even thought of.

As he put some thought into it, he began to grow somewhat excited at the prospect of trying out some of it with his mate. There were quite a few things that had peaked his interest, and with his impulsive nature it was difficult to rein himself back from going and finding her right this instant. But he held himself back, knowing that a lot of the stuff he now wanted to try with her would be way too much. She was still pretty shy, even with everything they had already done, and he knew they needed to do more stuff before she would be comfortable enough to do this. Unless…maybe getting married would put her more at ease.

The random thought popped up in his head, and he blinked and sat up, considering it. Sango had definitely seemed to accept Miroku's advances more once they were married. The sounds he had overheard on their wedding night proved that amply. Maybe it would be the same for Kagome? And he knew that she wanted to, after all she had said it was important they get married before fully mating…so…it seemed feasible that maybe she would feel the same way.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hey folks! Sorry it's so short this time, I'll make it up with a longer chappie next time I promise. :D

But I hope everyone enjoyed the fluff and amusement of this chapter.

And as always, thank you so much to all my absolutely wonderful reviewers. You guys are the bomb! Seriously, I love each and every one of you. :3

Oh, and I'm gonna be on vacation this upcoming weekend, so the next chapter of this story will be a little late again, I'm sorry.


	27. Chapter 27

Of course Kagome had no notion of what Inuyasha had gone through for her sake, and shortly after that it came time for her to go home and study for her last set of exams, which would determine if she finally graduated from high school.

She refused to repeat the year and that was final.

Without Naraku, going home was a lot less stressful, because even though there were plenty of demons still out and about making mayhem and doing bad things, there was no more wondering if Naraku would make an unexpected move while she was gone. She had always feared him more than any other demon, because he knew them personally and had seemed to rejoice in setting up not only deadly, but also very emotionally traumatic traps.

So, one morning she snuck out of Kaede's hut, as per usual, trying to avoid a confrontation with her boyfriend. One would think he would be a little bit less of an ass now that his arch nemesis had been defeated, but then again this was Inuyasha, and he still tended to protest her going back to her own time. Really, she felt bad about this, especially since she knew it was very uncomfortable for him and his demon instincts when she was gone, but at the moment she simply didn't feel like a confrontation.

Of course, as usual, it didn't work. He sniffed her out.

"Kagome…."

She jumped, and then sighed in resignation, turning around slowly to face a ticked off Inuyasha. "I have to go Inuyasha. If I can just, uh, defeat this last round of tests, then I'll have conquered them for good and won't have to worry about it ever again." She tried to put it in terms he would understand.

And, thankfully, he did seem to, and his eyes lit up with excitement. "No more tests?!"

It was obvious he hated them based on how excited he was.

"Yeah…what's got you so excited? I mean, it's not like you have to deal with them."

"That means you won't have to go back to your time and 'study.'"

She wasn't sure whether to be offended at the air quotes he put around study.

"Wait, hold on. I'll still want to go back there and visit my family and get supplies…" She started, immediately beginning to worry that he wouldn't let her go visit her family or something ridiculous like that. But he interrupted her before she really got going on that train of bad thoughts.

"That's fine. I don't care about going to visit your folks, but when you go back to study you get all tense and upset, and it's no fun to go with you because you just sit there … and then 'sit' me if I bother you."

"Yeah, I guess I see your point." She sighed, her knees dipping a little at the unintentional command he had given her. It still worked on her, but he had to intend to 'sit' her to actually force her to her knees.

Not bothering to scold him on the accidental 'sit,' she turned and headed to the well, just relieved he wasn't going to be fighting her on this one.

He followed and then parked himself on the edge with her, balancing on his haunches and looking for all the world like he was planning to go along with her, despite having just complained about her studying.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

"I'm coming with you."

She blinked at him, and then frowned. "But you just said-"

"I still need to go. It's no fun, but it's better than being on this side without you. Remember, I told you that my instincts go all haywire when you go over there now?"

In her relief she had temporarily forgotten about that, but now it made sense why he was coming along. "Oh, right. Sure, but I'll need you to not distract me from studying."

"I know, I know. Let's get going."

They jumped into the well together.

On the other side, she hurried into the house and then up to her room with her single-minded goal being to get started on pouring over her books. Once upstairs, she began looking through her books and her notes, compiling her studying material, and as usual discovered daunting gaps of information. So as per the norm, she called up her friends to ask for their notes.

Naturally, they wanted to come over and she panicked, worried about Inuyasha.

Somehow she let it slip that Inuyasha was there with her, maybe because he was talking noisily in the background as she spoke to them.

"Hey Kagome, there any food I can eat?" He asked loudly from outside her room, right in the middle of her talking to Eri.

"Oh! Kagome! Who was that?! Do you have Hojo over there with you or something?" She immediately asked excitedly and Kagome was swift to deny it.

"No, no! It's not-"

She was interrupted by Inuyasha, who was now bellowing from the first floor. "Oi! How do you work this damn thing?!" And then she heard some rather concerning banging coming from the kitchen downstairs.

Unthinkingly, she stuck her head out of her bedroom door and yelled, "Inuyasha! If you break the kitchen again I'm going to kill you!"

The phone in her hand started squeaking excitedly and she put her ear to the receiver again to hear Eri saying, "Inuyasha's there with you!? This mysterious boyfriend we've heard so much about?! Oh! We're all coming over right now!"

She was left staring at the dead phone in her hand with horror. Then she darted down the stairs at top speed and skidded into the kitchen, startling Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha! We need to cover your ears!"

"Huh?" He asked, staring at her with both hands stuck in the microwave, the faucet running behind him, and several noodle cups piled on the kitchen counter next to him - one of which was slowly melting on the hot stove that he had apparently turned on as well.

"My friends are coming over to give me their notes from class, and they insist on meeting you, so we have to cover your ears!" She yelled rather shrilly, pretty hysterical by this point.

Said ears laid flat on his head to dull her loud, high pitched voice some and he pulled himself out of the strange appliance with a wince. "Okay, with what?"

"I-I don't know!" She yelped and promptly began to run around trying to find something, managing to have enough presence of mind to at least turn off the water and stove as well.

After a bit, he found his light blue bandanna that he liked to wear around her house when he helped out with cleaning…the very few times he had been talked into it. Usually he only seemed to make a bigger mess than the one he had been roped into cleaning up though, so her folks had sort of given up on him.

Speaking of, her family hadn't even been there when she arrived, and after their continued absence she finally started looking around for a note. She finally found one taped to the fridge that said they were taking a short vacation at a hot spring in the next city over. She drooped, having looked forward to being able to visit with her mom, grandpa, and little brother since she hadn't seen them in several weeks.

Still, she eyed Inuyasha, who looked pretty cute with his sleeves tied up and his bandana on like he was going to do laundry or something. It was nice to have the house to herself when Inuyasha was here to keep her company. She also had her friends to look forward to, and she hurried to check and make sure there was some food for them, which there was. So she settled in to study in the living room until they got there. Inuyasha meanwhile kept himself busy doing stuff, just scooting around and basically dusting anything she pointed at. Of course before that he insisted she make him some Ramen, which she did to keep him somewhat pacified and hopefully civil for when her friends arrived.

He was obviously bored, and eventually he just sat across from her and folded his arms around his sword in his typical sleeping or meditation pose. Seeing the weapon, Kagome frowned, having a very important realization.

"Hey Inuyasha? I think you'd better hide Tessaiga. If my friends see it, it'll be bad. We don't really have swords here in this time."

He looked down at said weaponry, obviously not happy about it, but after a short huff of breath he stood and carried Tessaiga over to the nearest closet, shoving it in with a rather grumpy sound.

It was a good thing he did, because shortly thereafter there was a knock on the door signaling the arrival of her friends. She leapt to her feet and ran to the door, eager to get their notes for studying and just happy to see them after such a long absence. She wasn't too happy about them meeting Inuyasha though, and that caused her to hesitate before yanking the door open, but eventually she forced herself to do it anyways.

She was met by a bunch of hugs as all three of her best friends swamped her with 'welcome back', 'happy to see you', 'so glad you're healthy' hugs. Then, just as abruptly, they were running off to find her mysterious boyfriend. Kagome stood there for a few moments, breathless and dizzy from the assault, but then hustled off behind them as she heard exclamations coming from the living room.

"You're Kagome's boyfriend?"

"Oh my god! You must be foreign, look at that silver hair! Do you dye it?"

"Uh…no. I was born with this color." Came Inuyasha's slightly bewildered response.

"Oh my! So pretty!"

As she walked in, Yuka turned to her and said, "Geez Kagome! You never mentioned he was a hottie!"

She flushed, pleased at the praise and pleasantly surprised at the good reaction. "I-I…well, I mean, he tends to wear kinda exotic clothes and stuff so…"

"Oh who cares? Damn, it looks good on him. But yeah, so why do you wear that?"

"It's what everyone wears where I'm from." He responded matter-of-factly.

"Oh wow! That's so cool!"

"And wow, look at his eyes, are you wearing contacts?"

"Uhhh…what are contacts?"

"Sheesh, you've never heard of contacts before? Where have you been, the feudal era?"

Before he could say anything, Kagome interrupted. "Well gee guys, I'm glad you all like my boyfriend, but I really need some help studying. Would you mind helping me out here?"

Yuka and Ayumi immediately turned towards her. "Oh sure, Kagome! Sorry for ignoring you and all, it's just that your boyfriend is so interesting."

They set to studying while the Eri continued to visit with Inuyasha, the other two frequently adding to the conversation.

And then it got awkward.

"Sooooo….have you guys done it yet?"

Kagome flushed and scolded Eri with a withering glare. "That's not appropriate study conversation!"

"Yeah, leave off! That's Kagome's private info!" Ayumi offered.

Kagome gave her a grateful glance.

"Oh please, you wanna know as bad as I do." Eri scoffed and then turned back to Inuyasha. "So? How far have you guys gotten? Come on, at least give me a base number."

He scowled a little while Kagome flushed. He sent her a slightly confused glance and then asked, "Uh, base number?"

"Oh my god! You don't know what bases are? First base, second base and all that? No? Geez, you must be a virgin or something…" Yuka exclaimed.

Kagome face palmed at her friend's nosiness. She loved them and all, but sometimes they got a little too pushy.

Inuyasha only scowled more and flushed a tiny bit, causing her friends to go nuts.

"Wow! You really are a virgin!" Eri exclaimed, shocked.

Ayumi just clapped her hands together and said, "How romantic!"

Yuka, being the most logical and pragmatic thinker of the three only pointed out, "Well yeah maybe, but it just means neither of them know what they're doing." She turned to Kagome, who was blushing and doing her absolute best to try and ignore the train wreck in progress taking place in her living room.

"You do know how to use a condom right?"

At that, Kagome reached her limit, stood up, and slapped her hand down on top of her notes. "Okay! That's enough! I need to study and this conversation is way too personal! You're making Inuyasha uncomfortable!"

Everyone's eyes turned to the white haired boy, who did indeed look uncomfortable, and confused. Before he could ask her what a condom was, Kagome shook her head vigorously and made a nasty face to dissuade him. He took note thankfully and stayed quiet.

Kagome was immensely grateful that the conversation changed topics at that point, and she was finally able to successfully transcribe her friends' notes. As she approached being finished with the last notebook, she did her best to ignore Inuyasha as he started getting bored and began his typical hovering to try and read over her shoulder. Her friends had tired of questioning him for the time being and had started conversing amongst themselves and eating snacks, so he was more interested in Kagome and what she was doing now that he was freed from the impromptu inquisition.

The most annoying part of what he was doing was, as usual, his bobbing up and down and side to side, looking over one shoulder and then the other, back and forth. If he would just stay still it would be slightly more tolerable, and after the millionth switch she huffed, growling, "Inuyasha! Would you stop moving around back there? If you must hover, at least pick one shoulder to read over!"

She failed to notice that her exasperated comment had regathered her friends' attention back on her and her boyfriend, and they watched curiously as she scolded him.

She was focused on her task and so she jumped a smidge when his chin settled on one shoulder and the warmth of his body radiated against her back. He wasn't touching her, aside from resting his chin on her, but he must be very close for her to feel his heat. Still, it was slightly better than what he had been doing before. It was distracting in a whole different kind of way, but at the same time it was almost soothing too.

"Aw…you guys are so cute together!"

At Ayumi's exclamation, both Kagome and Inuyasha jumped, and he grew flustered, going off to sit against the wall. He stayed there for the remainder of the time she studied, much to her friends' amusement. And as they conversed, they talked about him as if he wasn't there, mostly in an admiring way, and eventually his ruffled ego seemed to smooth out enough for him to rejoin the conversation from time to time, though he stayed sitting where he was.

Once she was finally done, her friends eventually headed on home and Inuyasha and Kagome were left to their own devises once again. Kagome couldn't help but be incredibly aware that they were in the house alone together, but did her best to focus on her studies. She had moved upstairs once her friends left, and so she was sitting at her desk with Inuyasha sitting behind her on the bed, watching her. Several hours into it she began getting the normal crick in her neck and shoulders, and she could feel several knots start to form in her muscles. Given the amount of stress she had been under lately - finding the jewel shards, battling demons, and then dealing with her friends meeting Inuyasha…studying was the final straw and she could feel a pounding headache coming on.

She pushed on though, forcing her tired eyes to focus on the swimming math equations in front of her. After a while she stood up and stretched out her creaky muscles, then proceeded to leave Inuyasha to his own devices for a bit as she adjourned to the bathroom for a nice soak in the tub. She also put on her nightgown and fluffy slippers, and by the time she returned she felt a little better, though sleepier. Still, sleep was the last thing she could indulge in at the moment, and so she pressed on, doing more studying.

She lasted another hour or so before her head began drooping again and saliva magically started to appear on the pages of her notebook. Before she knew what hit her, she had conked out, her drool thoroughly peppering the pages of her precious notes.

She woke much later, only to find that she had been relocated, by Inuyasha assumedly, and she was now lying in bed with him curled around her. Tensing out of a knee jerk reaction, she flushed bright red and yelped, "Inuyasha!" before flopping around in a distressed manner.

Inuyasha came to with a snort. "Wha-? What's going on?"

"What are you doing? Why are you in bed with me?"

In her half asleep, fuzzy mind she temporarily forgot that this was something they did on a regular basis now. Having fallen asleep in a different location to where she woke up seemed to have discombobulated her briefly.

"Will you shut up and go back to sleep, Kagome?" He grumbled, half-asleep himself.

After a short-lived moment she quieted down, realizing how silly she was being and growing flushed with embarrassment for a different reason now. Why she had freaked out she didn't know, but she was thoroughly confused and discomfited that she had. Once she settled down, Inuyasha wrapped his arms more tightly around her and snuggled once again into her back, mumbling in a slightly cranky manner.

"…sorry…" Kagome finally whispered quietly, pursing her lips and frowning. "I got confused for some reason and temporarily forgot that we're together now."

He heaved a sleepy sigh. "Geez, Kagome, you're such a damn handful."

She huffed. "A handful?! What's that supposed to mean?" She started to sit back up, getting all ruffled again.

He just groaned and his hand landed on top of her head heavily, shoving her back down. "Just go to sleep you irritating woman."

All sorts of scenarios flashed behind her eyes, everything from her 'sitting' him right off the bed, to elbowing him, to yelling, to other scenes of violence. In the end she decided to do nothing. Under his gruff rudeness she could sense true concern for her health, though he would be hard pressed to admit it, and so she just accepted it with some of her own grumbles under her breath.

His arm tightened slightly, snuggling her closer to his warmth. Soon he was snoring softly next to her ear in that gentle, rhythmic way he had, and she quickly dozed off.

The next morning she woke, once again slightly disoriented but much less so than the previous night. Based on the utter stillness of the house and the still pretty dim light outside the window, she had to assume it was quite early in the morning and her family still hadn't returned from their little trip. Her second observation was that Inuyasha had moved, and so had she. She fell asleep with him basically spooning her, but she had woken to find him sprawled on top of her. She must have flipped onto her back at some point during the night, and given the small quarters of her twin bed the only place for Inuyasha to go would have been either on top of her or on the floor. He had obviously chosen the first option, although she doubted it was a conscious choice. His head was pillowed on her chest and sort of on her shoulder while one of his legs draped over both of hers and she thought she could feel one of his arms up under the pillow behind her head. None of that was really problematic, but the hand that had snuck under her nightgown was making her a little uncomfortable. It was lying flat on her thigh, which would be fine if it was outside of her clothes, but as it was she couldn't help but be worried it would travel upwards accidentally.

So, naturally her hand landed on top of his, over her nightgown while his was still under, and she grabbed on to keep his hand prisoner. She must have done it too fast though because he jerked and his claws flexed on her thigh. She hissed at the sharp stings as he gave her some shallows scratches and his ears flicked in response, one of them tickling her neck. He grunted and nuzzled into her collarbone for a second, before mumbling something resembling speech, though it wasn't understandable.

Sure enough, his hand tugged against her grip, seeming to naturally want to go upwards and towards his own face as he tried to go back to sleep and snuggled further into her. She kept it still by holding his hand tighter and that didn't seem to sit too well with him.

A grumbly sort of sound came out of his throat and he seemed to wake up a bit more, jerking on his hand and mumbling, "Wha the…?"

When his claws once again scraped against the sensitive skin of the inside of her thigh she grunted and said, "Hey, watch the claws Inuyasha!"

"Huh?" He finally raised his head a little and seemed to blearily peer down at her, then down at his hand under her nightgown. He blinked for a bit, not seeming to comprehend what was going on for a long moment. Then he frowned. "Uh, why are you holding my hand still, Kagome?"

She flushed. "Uh…well, I was worried it would move… you know, up."

He frowned some more, not looking overly satisfied with her answer. "And what's the problem with that?"

She just looked up at him blankly. "You do know you need a girl's permission to touch her…uh, private stuff right? If your hand went up, where do you think it would go?"

This time it was his turn to flush a little. "Oh." And then after a long moment he laid his head back down and tugged his hand out from under her nightgown. Kagome was just about to doze back off when the sound of his voice interrupted her snooze. "Hey Kagome? Do you not want me to touch you there?"

His voice sounded perturbed, and maybe just a little hurt to Kagome's shock. "N-no, that's not exactly…I mean, it's not that I don't want you to, but we haven't really talked about it or progressed that far yet."

"Oh. So we have to talk about it before I touch you? That doesn't make any sense, Kagome. I've touched you plenty without us talking about it first." He grumbled.

"Well no…that's not really what I meant either."

"So what's wrong then?" He asked, his voice mildly irritable now and impatient.

"Like I said, we haven't ever done that before…"

"Does it embarrass you or something?"

"…something like that…" she mumbled.

There was a long pause. "What if I just put my hand there and didn't move it?"

She twitched, flushing. "What? Now?" She squeaked.

"Duh." He snorted.

She thought about it. He just sounded like he wanted to touch her crotch area mainly because she had said he couldn't. Him just putting his hand on her wouldn't really be a big deal, she was still wearing her panties, and it wasn't like he was going to start messing with her or anything - or at least she assumed he wouldn't from what he was suggesting. That was really the only thing she was nervous about, since she wasn't really sure she was ready to do that with him yet, but this seemed like it would be fine. After a bit of mulling she finally decided that it would be okay and so she hesitantly said, "Yeah, I guess. As long as you don't move your hand around too much."

Inuyasha, being Inuyasha, didn't hesitate for a second and simply plopped his hand down on her – over her nightgown – where her thighs met and cupped his palm over the mound there at the top where all her fluffy hair was. She flinched and then tensed at the slightly abrupt move. It wasn't as though he did it roughly, in fact he had put his hand down surprisingly gently, but it was still a bit of a shock to suddenly have his hand there.

Like he had promised his hand stayed put, just resting on her and cupping her idly. Her legs were together, so he wasn't even really touching the lips or anything, just the pubic mound. And slowly she relaxed, finding the warmth and weight of his hand not unpleasant in the slightest. Once her flaming face had cooled a bit she found herself surprisingly comfortable with it.

After a good few minutes of silence and stillness he nuzzled his face against her again, his cheek resting high on her chest. He slid down a smidge and she tensed again, wondering what he was up to. Once his cheek was more fully against her boob he nuzzled her again and she flinched a little, swallowing thickly.

"What's the difference between this and this then? You haven't complained about me touching your breasts that one time."

She was startled by the question. "Uh-Uhm, well that was in the moment and stuff…and breasts are a little different from privates you know."

"Yeah, but I touched that other area of you with my stomach."

She flushed again, finding his blunt phrasing slightly embarrassing. "Er, well I mean I was just sitting on you and…I dunno, there's not as much you can do with just your stomach and stuff."

He didn't respond for a moment, thinking about her answer. "So you mean its fine because my stomach can't do this?" He asked as his fingers rippled against her, the motion similar to a person drumming their fingers against a surface out of boredom.

"Hey!" She protested a little, not expecting the movement.

"What? Did I hurt you?"

"N-no…but…"

He heaved a sigh and moved his head back up to rest more on her shoulder, for which she was grateful because the weight of his head had actually been a bit heavy and slightly painful on her breast. "I just don't understand what the fuss is about. I'm not even really touching you there."

"But…it's embarrassing, Inuyasha…." She just couldn't help her voice from getting whiny.

He laughed a little. "You and your embarrassment. You're gonna have to get over that Kagome."

She just grumbled.

With a huffed chuckle he settled down, snuggling up to her with his head on her shoulder and his hand on her.

After a bit of time spent like that, he inched his fingers down a little, mumbling, "Is it okay if I just _put_ my hand there?"

"You mean like…between my legs?" She asked, flushing hot and staring at the ceiling, wondering if they were actually having this awkward conversation.

"Yeah."

It wasn't really that big a deal if she thought about it. It was the same as what they were already doing basically and his hand would be over her nightgown and everything, so after a little hesitation she figured it should be fine.

"I guess so. If you really want to." She murmured, parting her legs just a little so he could slide his palm down a bit and cup her sex fully with his whole hand. She jumped a bit when he took instant advantage, though again, he was very gentle about it.

She was grateful that he didn't do anything more than cup her intimately, seeming to be satisfied just with that…although she suspected he probably wanted a lot more. Really, she was touched that he was so nice about it all and didn't seem interested in pressuring her to do stuff she obviously wasn't ready to do. The warm pressure of his hand there actually felt nice once she relaxed about it, almost seeming possessive in an odd way.

They both seemed to hold their breath for a little while, and then relaxed at the same time, Inuyasha following her lead seconds after she untensed.

He didn't ask for anything else. In fact, after a while it seemed he had almost fallen back asleep of all things. Kagome couldn't quite believe, under the circumstances, that he had simply let things lay the way they were and had gone back to sleep! What kind of hormonal guy was he anyways? She knew he had normal guy type feelings for her, considering some of their previous encounters, but maybe he was able to turn them off or something? As always, she was left wondering at her non-human companion.

Eventually she just decided to accept the situation as it was and relaxed back into the bed, dozing off a bit herself.

After another hour of light sleep she decided it was time to get up, mainly because her bladder and stomach demanded attention. And so she managed to shrug off a still clinging Inuyasha and slip out of the bed, with some difficulty when he grumbled and stuck to her, which was made a bit dangerous with his claws in such a delicate area.

Her somewhat less than graceful disembarkment from the sleeping apparatus inevitably woke up the silver haired dog-demon, and he watched with cranky golden eyes as she gathered up her clothes and headed to the bathroom to get herself ready for the day.

By the time she was done and heading to the kitchen to make breakfast, he had also gotten up and was waiting for her.

Breakfast was a simple affair, an omelet and rice which he consumed in his dog-like manner as per usual while she ate at a slightly more reasonable pace. And then it was off to studying again. She had one more day to prepare for her tests which would take place bright and early tomorrow and she intended to make full use of it.

It turned out to be a very boring day for Inuyasha, who did his best to not ester her, for which she was very grateful. For once he seemed to get the seriousness of her upcoming assignment, perhaps because she had told him this was the last "battle" before she would be free, and that if she "lost" she would be forced to endure a whole other year of this torture.

She nearly pulled an all-nighter, and it was only due to Inuyasha basically dragging her to bed and pinning her down until she went to sleep that she got the few hours of shut eye that she did. It was a good thing she did, because without some sort of sleep she would have been utterly unprepared for the disaster that was the next day.

Naturally, as fate would have it, she overslept but didn't realize at first that she didn't have enough time to gather all her things together as she normally would. By the time she finally glanced at the clock it would be nearly impossible to catch her bus. Somehow, amidst her panicked and somewhat incomprehensible shrieking, Inuyasha managed to get the gist of the problem and swept her up onto his back, taking off without another word. Soon Kagome got on board with the impromptu plan and guided him to her bus station. They only just managed to get there with him running at top speed, ignoring all the dropped jaws and buggy eyes on the way. Her friends were likewise shocked when she arrived skidding to a halt riding piggyback on her boyfriend. They didn't have time to interrogate her though, because they all had to cram onto the overly full bus. Inuyasha got a good few stares in the cramped space, particularly when he snarled in a distinctly non-human manner whenever someone knocked into Kagome.

Aside from a few tense moments, they managed to arrive on time. Kagome was only just beginning to relax when she had the horrifying realization that her knapsack was missing. With a loud, shrill noise she turned to try and get back on the bus, only for the doors to close in her face. With a sinking feeling of despair, she watched as the bus left, carrying away all her test materials and ID necessary for even getting into the test. Once again, Inuyasha swept her up and ran after the offending machine. Being the amazing creature that he was, he actually managed to overtake the bus and leap on top, at which point Kagome had to forcibly stop him from Wind Scarring the bus to shreds. Once the bus finally creaked to a halt she tore into the doors, shoving her way past rather offended patrons of the transportation system as she elbowed her way through the crowd to get to her seat where she was sure her knapsack must be perched. To her absolute horror it was no longer there, and she desperately began searching the entire car from top to bottom trying to find it.

In the middle of calling out in a tearful voice, asking anyone nearby if they had seen a lonely knapsack, she was nearly strangled as her scarf was unceremoniously grabbed and used to yank her out the door. Amidst choking and spluttering, she whirled to see that Inuyasha had been the one to lift her like a puppy, using her scarf like a ruff, and she began to admonish him for taking her away from her hunt. He interrupted her rant by shoving her knapsack at her with an exasperated growl. After a long second of staring, she burst into tears and jumped at Inuyasha, wrapping her arms around him and thanking him profusely.

He stiffened, his arms out to the sides. "Uh…you're welcome?" he sputtered, obviously unsure about the whole thing.

After a moment he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back, but then he muttered in her ear, "We should probably get going. You're going to be late."

She nodded and pulled away, sniffling. Once more, she clambered onto his back and he set off at a sprint. They skidded to a halt right on time, with only a few seconds to spare in front of the school, and after scrambling off Inuyasha's back, Kagome spared a brief second to give him a peck on the lips before running at top speed into the building, leaving a stunned half-demon behind her.

The test went decently, and after only a few days of tense waiting she found out that she passed. By that point her family had returned from their little vacation, and so upon the joyous news her mother prepared her favorite dinner in celebration.

"So Kagome, what are you going to do now? Have you thought about where you want to go to college?" Her mom asked after a good deal of playful chatter and celebratory talk.

Kagome paused with her chopsticks halfway to her mouth. "Uh…I dunno yet, Mom. I still have so much to do in the feudal era."

Inuyasha gave her a sharp look, one that clearly said he didn't know what exactly this 'college' thing was, but he disapproved of her doing it.

Her mom wasn't deterred. "Oh, well. There's plenty of time for you to decide, Honey."

Kagome just mumbled something resembling an affirmative and got back to eating, feeling uneasy. To be honest, she wasn't sure what she was going to do. Where was she going to live? Here or there? If she ended up spending most of her time there, and only came back here to visit her family, then there really wasn't any reason for her to even consider college. It wouldn't do her any good in the feudal era.

She had the sneaking suspicion that that was going to be her final decision.

She glanced at Inuyasha, watching him interact with her little brother. He had a long-suffering but slightly smug expression on his face as her little brother sucked up to him, asking for his best stories. Her eyes traced his oh so familiar profile, the slightly upturned nose, the strong jaw, his brightly lit golden eyes, and felt her heart squeeze. In that moment, she had the realization that she couldn't live without him, not that she ever thought she could.

But that really only gave her one option. He couldn't live long-term in her world; it was too foreign, and he would probably eventually attract some sort of government agency with his alien nature. It wasn't safe for him to live here with her. He was from an entirely different world, one where he fought for his life and was free to swing his sword around without being snapped up by the police. She would have to go live with him, if she wanted to spend her life with him. That was her only option.

A slight wave of sadness came over her. She would miss her family so much…and she hadn't exactly ever planned on moving so far away from them. After a brief moment of depression she shook it off, reminding herself that as long as she had a jewel shard she could always visit her family. It wasn't as if she would be moving to an entirely different country where she would have to worry about money and plane fares and such to visit her family. She could visit whenever she wanted. She just wouldn't be able to have a true life here in her own time. There would be no college, no job, no car. None of the things a girl her age would normally be expecting. No, she would have demons and priestess duties and a life without electricity to look forward to. With a heavy sigh she pushed all that to the side, focusing instead on the current situation and the celebration of her finishing high school. She could at least be proud that she had managed that much.

Her musing was interrupted by her grandfather who began the line of questioning anew with, "Well, have you at least considered what job you want? That will help decide what college you want to go to."

Biting her lip, Kagome considered what to tell them. She hadn't even told them about planning to marry Inuyasha, or that they were technically - to him anyways - married already.

Inuyasha, being Inuyasha, solved the problem for her in the worst possible way. "She's going to be a priestess, right Kagome? I overheard Kaede talking about training you for real to be her successor back in the village." He said it so absentmindedly, now playing with the cat, and didn't seem to notice the sudden stillness of the table.

 _Shit._

"Er…" She glanced at the faces of her family, none of them overly surprised, but all of them a bit disapproving as well, and knew she had to fess up now. She'd just have to break it to them gently and hope for the best. "Well, there's a few things that I should probably tell you…you see…uh…Inuyasha and I…we're…"

As she stalled, her mother's eyes narrowed and she said, "You're not pregnant are you, Kagome?"

Sputtering and turning red, she quickly hurried to say, "No! No, no, no! I'm not pregnant! Geez, Mom…"

Once again, Inuyasha just had to add something to the conversation. "I don't think we should have pups until we get this current demon situation more under wraps."

That was some new information, even for Kagome. She hadn't even thought that Inuyasha would want 'pups' as he called them.

Getting over her own shock quicker than her family, she knew she had to do some damage control. "Actually, we're planning on getting married…but Inuyasha's right. No babies for a while."

That got everyone's attention and there was a short pause that was so quiet you could hear crickets chirping outside, and then there was an explosion of sound as everyone yelled at once.

"You're getting married! Since when?!"

"Oh I'm so happy for you two! And grandchildren! I'll have grandbabies!"

"And great-grandbabies!"

"When's the wedding?"

"Where are you having it?"

After the commotion had died down some, Kagome said, "Well…we're gonna have to have it over there, because … you know, Inuyasha would be a bit difficult to get into a church with those ears of his."

There were some disappointed exclamations, but everyone seemed to understand.

"Also, as Inuyasha said, I'm planning on taking over the shrine back in his time, but even though I'll be working there, we'll still visit you guys and I'm construction some sort of phone line or something so we can still communicate."

"Oh, that would be lovely Kagome! Then we can know you're all right even when you can't visit."

"Yeah…"

The celebration kicked up even higher and Grandpa brought out a bottle of sake, even letting the two youngsters have a couple of swigs. Kagome's mother disappeared into the kitchen for a little while, only to come back later with a cake and some celebratory sparklers which they lit out in the backyard.

Over all, it was a wonderful night.

* * *

Author's Note:

Tada! I'm back! Here's the new chapter for this, and now I'm gonna work on getting the new chapter out for The Little Human either later tonight or tomorrow.

As always, thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed this story. You are all so amazing.


	28. Chapter 28

Several months went by. They returned to the feudal era and resumed their hunt for the jewel shards, battling an increasing number of minor demons. Kagome did her best to go and visit her family at least every other week, and in the meantime she managed to construct a cellphone that could connect to her time. How she managed it, she wasn't entirely sure, but one evening before she left her world, on a whim she took her cellphone and opened up the back. Using some online guides, she looked up where the receptions sensors and battery was in her particular model. First she tried shoving one tiny jewel shard into the sensor and one into the battery on her side and then crossed over the well. When she tried it she naturally got no reception. But on another whim she took the jewel shards out, and then jumped back through the well. In the middle of the transition she shoved the jewel shards back in and closed it up before she got to the other side. On her side of the well she buried a jewel shard into the dirt and then jumped back. On the other side she buried another jewel shard in the dirt.

This time when she tried it, to her delight it actually worked. In this manner she was able to stay in contact with her family even while in the feudal era.

And so things continued where they left off. While on the feudal side of the well, Kagome lived with Kaede or on the road. Sometimes she bunked with Sango and Miroku, who had their own house in the village now. She felt like such a burden to them honestly, and was most comfortable on the road, living out of a sleeping bag and her giant yellow backpack. Then at least she didn't feel like she was imposing.

Of course when she stayed with Kaede, Inuyasha wasn't allowed to sleep with her on the same sleeping mat. A fact he had protested rather strongly at one point.

"What's the fucking problem old hag? We sleep together in her sleeping bag when we're on the road all the time!"

Kagome flushed rather hotly at that, not liking the way that sounded. When Kaede sent her a rather pointed look she quickly spoke up. "He means sleeping, _just_ sleeping. Seriously. It gets cold out there and sharing body heat helps a lot." She sputtered quickly.

Inuyasha huffed. "Besides that we're mates after all, it's only natural."

Kaede rolled her eyes. "Inuyasha, ye aren't thinking about Kagome at all are ye? She is perceived as a human girl, and even though this "mating" of yours may mean you're married in your eyes, none of the other humans are going to think that. To them she is an unmarried girl who is inappropriately sleeping with a boy, or worse, a half demon, and she will be labeled a whore. She won't be able to command respect as a priestess! She will be shunned!"

Kagome flinched, not really liking the prospect of being thought of in such bad terms.

Inuyasha also flinched and paled a little. Judging by the rather serious look on his face, he was putting some intense thought into what Kaede had just said. After that, he hadn't crawled into her sleeping bag, even out on the road, and Kagome missed his warmth at night. She also noticed that he started acting a little odd, going off on his own during their trips and bringing back rabbits or fish or even occasionally a wild pig. He had hunted for the group before, but not this consistently, especially when it was just the two of them.

Miroku and Sango were staying home more and more frequently, especially when it became clear that Sango had gotten pregnant.

But even when they were absent and it was just Kagome and Inuyasha on the road, he seemed hell bent on providing food. He also went out of his way to find better spots to bed down for the night, hunting down hot springs and caves and well sheltered areas, instead of settling down willy-nilly like before. It was rather odd. On top of those things, he had also gotten even more protective of her, very nearly going ballistic whenever a demon threatened her. And whenever Koga was unlucky enough to show up, Inuyasha's eyes would almost immediately go demonic and he would glare with such ferocity that even the bold wolf would keep his distance from Kagome.

All Kagome could really come up with for this change in behavior was that he had gotten more serious about being a proper mate or something. Though it was overbearing and mildly irritating at times, she put up with it, figuring he was going through something she couldn't really comprehend. It wasn't until he started disappearing more and more frequently, particularly when they were around the village that she started to get worried. He would sneak off without her noticing until he was gone, and then she would wonder where in the heck he had gotten off to.

He refused to answer any questions, but he didn't seem upset. In fact his eyes were bright and excited, if slightly uneasy whenever he came back. After a while of this, Kagome just blew it off, deciding he was being weird as usual. She refrained from going to her world while he was gone, at least not without telling him first, because he would throw a hissy fit. But one day, while he was gone she got a phone call from her mom.

"Kagome! Oh thank goodness I got a hold of you. I forgot to tell you that you have a doctor's appointment today. It's in an hour!"

"What? What are you talking about Mom? What doctor's appointment?" Kagome sputtered, perturbed by this sudden news.

"Will you be able to make it? Or should I cancel?" Her mom continued, evading her question.

"Uh…I'll be able to make it…but what's the appointment for?"

"Just a checkup."

Kagome got the funny feeling her mom wasn't telling her everything, but she agreed and hurried to the well, telling Kaede what was going on. After warning her of the obvious temper tantrum that would greet her upon her return, Kaede agreed to let the others know where she was.

Kagome arrived just in time for her mom to whisk her into the car.

"So Mom, what exactly is this checkup for again?"

"I thought it would be appropriate for you to see a doctor and get some birth control pills. With the upcoming wedding and you saying that you didn't want to have children right away, I figured you would need it."

Kagome gaped at the matter-of-fact way her mother had addressed this particular issue. "So wait…you think we're having sex already?" She sputtered, nearly uncomprehending what was going on.

"Well, if not now then certainly after you get married. It's important for you to be prepared."

After getting over the initial shock and embarrassment of it, Kagome found herself actually being grateful. It wasn't something she had thought about, but if she had birth control pills that would make things a lot easier for her in the future. But of course that meant…

"Uh…does that mean I'm going to a gynecologist?"

"Yes, of course dear."

Kagome flinched. She didn't know exactly what all went on with these sorts of exams but she knew it was going to be embarrassing. She couldn't help but be rather ticked off now at her mom for doing this without asking her first. Yes, she now wanted the pills, but she really didn't want to go through this exam.

"Uh, is there any way to get birth control pills without seeing a doctor?" She asked sullenly.

"No dear. And it's important to get an exam at your age, it's about time for it. It's important to make sure you're healthy."

Kagome flinched, still highly displeased. She sulked the entire way there. She understood why her mom was doing this, but she was absolutely positive that she could get those pills without an exam. She made up her mind to do her best to convince the doctor to give them to her without having to go through the embarrassment of a full exam.

Once there, she waited on pins and needles in the waiting room after filling out the paperwork, nearly jumping out of her skin when her name was called. She trudged into the room, letting the nurse take her vitals and then waited for the doctor again with baited breath.

He came into the room and she was slightly relieved at the appearance of the kindly looking old man. He was gray-haired, spectacled, and possessed a kind smile and twinkling eyes.

"So! Miss Kagome is it?" He asked, adjusting his glasses on his nose.

She nodded and he took a look at her chart. "Just in for an exam and to get some birth control pills are we?"

"Um…yeah, but I was wondering if there's any way to skip the exam part." She mumbled.

He chuckled kindly. "Well, yes you could. But at eighteen years old it really is best to have one. Especially if you're sexually active or plan to be any time soon. It's a good idea to make sure all the equipment works yes?"

She sighed, thinking it over. He had a point. "Uh…am I at risk for anything in particular? I mean, I've never had sex before, so I don't have any STDs or anything."

He spun on his rolling stool to face her. "Well, it's still important to test for diseases that can be passed through saliva and blood. Also even without any sexual activity it's important to check for any sign of cervical cancer or ovarian cists or ovarian cancer. Also a breast exam is important because even young women your age can have breast cancer, as unlikely as it is. Any number of things can develop, most of them curable or treatable, but it's always best to catch them as early as possible. Even something as simple as a yeast infection is better to catch early, since it will be much less uncomfortable."

Kagome heaved a sigh, deciding it probably would be a good idea to go through with the exam, as uncomfortable as it was. "Okay. Well, I guess so."

The doctor nodded and said, "Okay, well first please go to the restroom and give a urine sample. Then once back in here change into the gown that will be on the table and I will rejoin you shortly."

He left and she made her way to the bathroom, doing as he asked and then returned to the room, undressing and putting on the gown she found waiting for her. The breezy feel of the paper was very uncomfortable, and she found her self fussing with it to try and make it slightly less wonky. At the polite knock on the door she stopped messing with her outfit and told the doctor to come in.

First, he asked all sorts of questions, like whether she had had any sort of sex, including oral. She blushed and responded with a no. He asked about her periods, and then questioned if she experienced any discomfort or itching, which were followed by other personal questions. At first it was very, very embarrassing, but after a while she relaxed some with his funny sense of humor and easy going manner. He seemed almost grandfatherly, in a non-creepy way. She was still uncomfortable with the breast exam, but it wasn't too bad all in all.

After giving her breasts the all-clear it was time for the pelvic exam, which was the part she had been dreading. Putting her feet into those damn stirrups nearly sent her into a heart attack, but she powered through and thankfully the doctor was very understanding and let her get used to it before proceeding. She still flinched when he touched her, but she did her best to disassociate and not think about it too much. Dr. Reed did a good job of distracting her with funny stories, and she was mostly able to ignore what was going on. Up until he had to use a speculum on her.

"Now, this might pinch a little, your hymen is still largely intact so this might tear it just a little. I'll use the smallest one to make it a little easier."

Naturally the warning only made her tense up, but she did her best to relax. The metal was cold, which made her jump. And yes, it did pinch. Quite a bit in fact, and the doctor commented on the fact that she seemed to have a particularly thick hymen. He warned her that it might make her first experience with sex quite painful, which was a lovely thought, but she was a bit too preoccupied with dealing with the discomfort and moderate pain that she was in at the moment to really pay attention to what he was saying.

He poked around for a bit and did whatever it was that he had to do while Kagome gritted her teeth and stared up at the ceiling, forcing herself to count the ceiling tiles as a distraction. It was over after a few minutes, and he was telling her to sit up and where the paper towels were to clean up. He left the room to let her get dressed and she took advantage of the paper towels he had pointed out, noting as she did so that she was bleeding a little. Well, that explained why it had hurt.

After she was all dressed he returned and talked about her options for birth control. She decided to go with the pill like she had planned, and got the prescription before leaving. She was quite sore and rather cranky, and it made her even more irritable at her mom for making her do this whole thing in the first place, ignoring for the moment that it had been her choice in the end. So, after picking up her pills she headed back to the feudal era, grudgingly thanking her mom before she left.

Once on the other side of the well she stalked back to Kaede's hut in a foul mood, wincing a little every time she stomped and a slight twinge went through her insides and between her legs. By the time she got to the hut her irritable stride had been reduced to a miserable limp. Really, if that had been the smallest contraption the doctor had possessed, she shuddered to think of the largest. She was positive she would have been unable to walk if he had used that one. And the poking and prodding had hurt too. It had been so unpleasant that she had asked what the hell he was doing at one point, and he had explained that he was performing a pap smear, wherein he basically shoved a pipe cleaner up through her cervix. She and her cervix both agreed that it had been a rude forced entry and were both highly displeased.

She was not a happy camper by the time she lifted the reed mat over Kaede's doorway, and all she really wanted was to unroll her sleeping bag and curl up into a miserable ball after swallowing a few pain pills from her med kit. That plan was tossed out the window when she came face to face with a very pissed Inuyasha.

He was so pissed in fact that he just glared at her, instead of yelling like he normally would. As soon as she stepped through the doorway she was frozen in place by that evil look. Then the pain and crankiness flooded back at a twinge from her lower half and she winced, slinking her way around the wall of the hut to her bag, which she began rustling through to find her med kit. She hoped she wouldn't have to confront Inuyasha, but that was a pretty impossible hope and she knew it.

"Kagome…"

She cut him off before he could go into full-blown scold mode. "Not now Inuyasha. Sorry for leaving without telling you. But I can't deal with an argument right now." She nearly groaned, finally finding her pain pills and popping two with a relieved sigh.

It just sucked that this exam had taken place shortly before her period was due, because as the doctor explained, pap smears normally didn't hurt. But, around 'that time of the month' he told her that her cervix would be a lot more sensitive. He also warned her that the pap would probably kick-start her cramps, and by now she knew he had been correct.

She heard a growl and suddenly she was nose to nose with a red fire rate robe. She looked up at Inuyasha, expecting to see irritation at her leaving, but finding something entirely different in his expression. His eyes were narrowed and his nostrils flared and he looked entirely freaked out. Her fingers stalled in undoing the laces tying her sleeping bag to her knapsack and she froze, utterly confused at why he was looking at her like that. With a snarl he scooped her up, shocking her. Her hand stayed stuck to her bag and he grabbed that too, yanking it from her and slinging it over his shoulder before dragging her and her bag out the door.

"Inuyasha! What the…put me down now! Ow! Seriously! That hurts!" She complained at the ache in her groin that was exacerbated by being thrown over his shoulder.

She half-way noticed Sango and Miroku staring at them bemusedly as they passed through the village. Inuyasha thankfully heeded her complaints and switched her to being cradled in his arms instead, bridal style, but still refused to meet her eyes or answer her questions. Finally he set her down in a clearing some ways from the village and stalked a few feet away after dumping her on the ground slightly roughly. Kagome winced, not happy about being treated this way after having had such an unpleasant day. She was sorely tempted to 'sit' him out of aggravation, but held her tongue.

Finally he turned back to her, his eyes fiery hot and flashing back and forth between red and normal. She blinked, shocked once again. "Uh…what the heck's wrong with you Inuyasha? You're acting weird."

He snarled, stalking closer to her. "Why do you smell like another man Kagome? I thought you were going to see a doctor?"

She blinked. "Uh…because the doctor was a man?"

His eyes flashed again. He closed the distance between them and grabbed her by her waist, lifting her. He stuck his face in her chest and breathed deeply, then he lifted her, which made her flail a little at the unusual and uncomfortable treatment. As always she was shocked by his non-human strength as he easily lifted her until her hips were in front of his face. She winced and turned bright red as she realized he could smell the doctor on her _there_.

He growled again and then set her down, a little roughly once again, and she stumbled a little before getting her balance. "Explain why you smell like him so strongly between your legs. And why it smells so strange." He wrinkled his nose. "You smell like…some of those weird chemicals and shit from your world."

She cleared her throat, embarrassed, but also a little ticked off that he seemed to think she cheated on him or something. "So what? You think I had sex with him or something? Geez Inuyasha, what do you think I am? A whore?" She spat, and his eyes widened, seeming to snap out of whatever possessive spat he had gotten himself into.

He shook his head vigorously, as if in an attempt to get himself under control, and Kagome noted the way his eyes squeezed closed, looking pained. Once he had finished, he met her gaze again, his eyes totally normal once more and the expression he gave her was so confused and hurt that her anger immediately melted. "No…I don't think you'd do that Kagome, but…I can't help it! I can't stand the smell of him on you. Why? Why is his scent all over you? I don't understand."

She softened. "In my world we have doctors that specialize in female reproductive organs. Women typically get exams every few years to make sure everything is okay and we haven't developed anything wrong. This was my first exam, it was so I could…uh…" she stalled, embarrassed about why she had gone in the first place.

Inuyasha blinked, scrunching up his eyebrows as he processed what she had told him. "So are there doctors specializing in male reproductive organs too?"

"Uh…honestly I don't know. I think it's sort of like a modern mid-wife type of thing. I mean I think it stemmed off of that practice, and then just branched off from only being about pregnancy to other things. I mean there's all sorts of diseases and stuff that can happen down there, so it's good to get it all checked out on a regular basis."

"I…guess." He hesitated. "So, what all did he do to you?"

Kagome winced. "Don't ask. You don't want to know."

His eyes sharpened. "Did he hurt you?"

"Well…a little. But it wasn't his fault." His expression blackened and he looked like he was about to go kill said doctor. Kagome hurried to try and distract him. "Don't worry about it Inuyasha, everything's fine and I got what I went there for, so it all turned out good."

He looked at her again. "What did you go there for?"

She flushed. "Uh…you'll find out eventually."

He groaned.

She just laughed and went to give him a playful shove, but stopped when he stiffened and his expression darkened again. "What?"

He closed his eyes and turned his head away. "You're going to have to wash off. If you don't get that scent off of you I won't be responsible for my actions."

She tensed and took a step back. "What do you mean?"

His eyes flashed over to meet hers and he gave her a deadly serious look. "I mean that if you don't get his scent off you I won't be able to stop myself from doing it my own way. Every instinct inside me is screaming to replace his scent with my own."

She blinked rapidly, trying to process what he was saying. "Replace…with your own?" Then it hit her. The only way he would replace the doctor's scent would be to touch her there, just as intimately as the doctor had, and probably more so given Inuyasha's tendency to overdo everything. She flushed. "Oh, right."

He nodded and turned, obviously expecting her to follow. She did so at a safe distance, not sure she was ready to get that intimate with him yet. Really, the thought had her flushed in more ways than one and she wondered if maybe she shouldn't just let him take care of it. But, then again, he didn't seem really in control. This might not be the best time to take that step.

So she followed until he led her to a hot spring that she had no idea existed. It was in a cave of all things. It was a very shallow cave, but it lent an amount of privacy that she appreciated, and he left her there to stand outside the cave. She swiftly undressed and stepped into the hot water, grateful to wash off the stickiness still left over from whatever the doctor had used to ease the procedure. She scrubbed with her hand, not having anything else to wash with. She did so gently, still being quite sore, and when she looked down in the water there was the slightest pink stain drifting around her thighs as the little bit of blood that had dried on her was washed away. She jumped when she heard the echo of Inuyasha's voice ring through the cave.

"Why do I smell your blood?"

"Uh…well I just washed off a little blood, so that's probably why." She sputtered, clamping an arm over her breasts as she turned slightly to look at him over her shoulder. Sure he had sort of seen her breasts before through a thin shirt, but that was in slightly different circumstances and right now she felt a bit vulnerable.

He was glaring again. "So that damn doctor made you bleed?" He snarled, his claws flashing from the light of the sun behind him.

She swallowed. "Uh….sort of?"

He started walking into the cave and she tensed. "Where are you hurt? Show me."

She yelped, dipping lower in the water. "Why? I'm perfectly fine."

"If you're bleeding then I want to heal it for you."

Kagome flushed bright red. There was no way in hell he was licking this particular wound. "No. I'm fine. It's already closed, I was just washing off dried blood. No need for your healing powers."

He growled and crouched at the edge of the pool, making Kagome clamp her arm even more firmly across her breasts and cross her legs as she sunk ever lower under the water. He didn't seem like he was going to let this one go so she had the brilliant idea to lift her other arm out of the water and present the tiny pinprick left over from them drawing blood. He could heal that for her and hopefully he would drop it. "Here, you can heal this."

He gave her a sharp look but dutifully grabbed her arm and lapped at the crook of her arm until the tiny hole had closed. Then he gave her a sour expression. "There's more than that isn't there?"

"There's nothing else I want you to lick." She stated firmly, and he raised an eyebrow, his eyes wandering towards the water where she had crossed her legs.

She pressed her freed hand over her tuft of black curls there and glared at Inuyasha. "Hey!"

He scowled. "Please don't tell me you were bleeding from there."

She clenched her teeth and didn't respond. After all, he had asked her to not tell him, so she wouldn't.

At her silence a short harsh growl came from his throat. "What the fuck did he do to make you bleed?"

She heaved a sigh. "It's not a big deal, Inuyasha. Just drop it okay?"

"Like hell."

"Fine. It was just…I just have a … uh, whatchamacallit. What do you call a 'hymen' in the feudal era anyways?" She asked herself. After a moment of thinking, in which Inuyasha impatiently growled at her twice, she thought of something that might work. "Maidenhead! That might work!"

Then she flushed, realizing she had said that embarrassing word rather loudly. It echoed around them in the cave and made her wince.

At the ominous silence behind her, she risked a peek. Inuyasha had definitely understood that word and he looked like he wanted to murder someone. "Are you telling me, that blood was from him tearing your maidenhead?"

She gulped, inching away from him a little. "W-well…yes? A tiny bit?"

He stiffly stood, closing his eyes and visibly restraining himself before turning and rigidly striding out of the cave. After a few tense moments he called to her, "Make sure you get the scent out from inside you as well."

She flushed and closed her eyes, sinking beneath the water to hide entirely for a little. After soaking for a long time, she made sure to do a last good scrub, hoping it would be enough to get the scent. She donned her clothes, minus her underwear which she was sure would have the scent on them, and rejoined Inuyasha. He stared at her balefully, giving a little sniff in her direction.

He heaved a sigh. "I can still smell him."

Exasperatedly she put her hands on her hips. "Just get over it Inuyasha! This is as good as it's going to get and the rest will wear off in a day or two."

She could literally hear his teeth grinding as he gave a stiff nod. He led the way back to the village, carefully routing her through the trees - almost too carefully really. It was as if he was trying to avoid something, routing them in a large circle and then back to the village. Kagome didn't really focus on that too much though, she was more concerned with how Inuyasha was keeping his face pointed away from her.

She hoped this wasn't going to affect their relationship in any way.

Thankfully, after several days of avoidance Inuyasha went back to normal, apparently the scent having finally worn off. Still, she couldn't quite get what the doctor had said about her hymen out of her mind. If it was going to make sex painful, then she decided maybe it would be best to break it herself and get it over with in private. Maybe starting with just her fingers would make it less painful than just going straight for the sex part. She'd felt Inuyasha when he was hard and pressed up against her, and he did not feel tiny by any means. He had to be at least average sized, which was definitely larger than one or two of her fingers.

Mulling it over, she got the idea that maybe warm water would help. After all, it helped to loosen up and relax her muscles, so maybe it would also ease the muscles down there when she attempted 'Operation Maidenhead,' as she fondly coined it. So, one day she set off to find the hot spring Inuyasha showed her. It was relatively easy to find, and she was careful to try and go the exact way he had taken her. Since he had seemed so careful, it made her concerned that maybe there was something dangerous he had wanted to avoid. Just in case there was a demon nest or hive or something in the area, she tried to stick to the exact path.

Once inside, she disrobed and sank into the water, sighing in satisfaction as the heat worked its way through her body. She floated there for a while before attempting to complete her mission. Figuring the water might help, she first tried underwater, burrowing her fingers into her folds and finding the spot where her flesh gave a little when she pushed against it. As it turned out, water made a bad lubricant, and she didn't get very far before realizing this fact with a muttered curse and wince.

Really, if she was going to do this, she realized she would need some sort of lubricant, probably more than what her own spit would do. So, she called this idea a bust and after soaking a bit more, redressed and made her way back to the village.

Her next attempt started by approaching Kaede one morning as she fended off her blush.

"Um…Kaede? Is there something in this time period that I could use for…well, uh, lubricant? Like for, um, midwifery type stuff."

Kaede turned and arched a brow, looking at her. "I suppose ye would be needing animal fat. Or mayhap the jelly ye can acquire by crushing the leaves of this plant." She reached up and grabbed a little stalk that dangled from the fresh bundle of herbs she had gathered that morning. She handed it over and Kagome inspected it, noticing that it was a succulent and probably would indeed act like a lubricant.

"So, what do ye need it for may I ask?"

Kagome flushed. Figuring Kaede was a healer, and maybe she would have some advice, Kagome haltingly explained the situation to her. The older woman indeed seemed very sympathetic, and said that she could have the hut to herself for the day, since she had planned to go out herb picking anyway. Grateful, Kagome decided to take her up on her offer.

Kaede set off shortly after that, and put a red cord over the outside of the door, the one that signaled she was busy with a patient and warned others to not interrupt her.

So, Kagome was left to her own devices, and didn't hesitate to take advantage of this opportunity. Crushing up the herb produced a usable jelly, and once Kagome had picked the leafy parts out of it, she coated a finger in the clear goo and went for attempt number two. This time when she pressed against that spot she was able to find a small hole, probably a hole in the hymen, and eased her finger inside, going slow since it pinched a little. It wasn't overly unpleasant, but it wasn't too much fun either, especially as she attempted to add another finger. The pinching eased into a stinging, which quickly became a burning as she tried to stretch herself out.

It wasn't any kind of pain that she couldn't handle, but it was frustrating and hurt enough that she started complaining to herself, muttering, "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…stupid thing why won't you just give up already? Ow! Stretch out! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…"

She was making some progress. Every time she removed her fingers to get more lubricant there was a film of blood coating them, so she knew she had to have torn it at least a bit. It did feel a little wider now, but it was still way too tight and she knew there was more to be torn.

Really, she should have expected the smell of her blood to attract a certain demon, and her muttering to herself probably didn't help either. Soon, she heard quick footsteps and that was her only warning before Inuyasha came barging into the hut, totally disregarding the red cord across the door. Thankfully, with the slight advance notice, she had at least been able to remove her fingers and make a mad grab for the edge of her sleeping bag which she was currently stretched out on.

She quickly wrapped the blanket around her lower half and yelled, "Inuyasha! You don't just barge in here when there's a red cord across the door!"

He blinked down at her, looking at the pot of goo sitting next to her and her bloody fingers and frowned. "What the heck are you doin' Kagome?"

"I'm…it's nothing!" She yelped, flushing and wishing he would just go away.

"I can smell your blood, and see it on your hand…" He said as he squatted down on his haunches in front of her, staring at her hand so hard that she quickly hid it under the sleeping bag.

 _Well, this is going to be embarrassing_ , she thought to herself ruefully.

"Look, its private Inuyasha, can't we just leave it at that?"

"No."

She knew she wasn't going to get rid of him, so with a sigh she groaned and said, "I don't know what to tell you…it's embarrassing."

He sat fully, crossing his legs. "Just give it your best shot."

"Okay…I guess. Um…remember when I went to see that doctor?" At his black look she continued quickly. "Right. Yeah, well…see, he warned me that my…uh…the reason why I was bleeding was because…well, my maidenhead is apparently super thick." She finally spat out, turning extra red at that information. "And, he warned that it might make sex really painful, so I was…um…trying to fix it…"

He blinked at her, taking a second to absorb the information and then his eyebrows rose. "You mean you were trying to break your own maidenhead?"

At her nod, he glanced down to where she had hidden her hand. "With your fingers?!"

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's not exactly uncommon or anything. I'm sure lots of women do it that way…" She muttered, ever so slightly defensive.

He shrugged. "Wouldn't know. I haven't gone around asking women about that."

She snorted at the thought and slightly relaxed.

After a bit he said, "Actually, if this _doctor_ really did say that - and judging by the noises you were making before, I'm guessing he was right about it hurting - it's not a bad idea to break it with something small to start with."

She flushed a little, but was mostly surprised that he had agreed with her. "Yeah? You think so?"

"Sure." And then after a brief pause he flushed just a little and then grinned at her, slightly mischievously. "I could help if you wanted."

Kagome blushed from her forehead to her neck. "Um…that's okay, I think I can handle it myself."

He snorted at her obvious embarrassment. "You know, once we're married, you're gonna have to give up on that shy thing because I ain't gonna be taking no for an answer then."

"Uh, what?"

"You know, the wedding night and all of that? I figured that's when we can complete the mating ceremony."

"Wait, I thought you said you already basically considered us married?"

He heaved a sigh. "Actually, that was what I was coming to find you for before this whole thing came up. I was looking for you to ask you if you'd marry me. Like…maybe some time soon?"

She blinked, wondering if Inuyasha was actually, officially proposing to her. "You mean, like a human marriage?"

"Yeah. I mean, Kaede made a good point the other day, and didn't you say that it was important to you as well back when Sango and Miroku did it? We even told your parents that we're getting married. So…"

"Yeah. I mean of course I want to marry you…I was just surprised is all. I guess I didn't expect you to actually propose."

"So is that a yes?" he asked with a grin, his ears pricked forwards.

"Yes, Dummy."

He grinned even wider and leaned forward to give her a little kiss. Then before she could do anything about it, he had grabbed a hold of her wrist, and pulled her hand out of its hiding place. She didn't know what the heck he was doing, and was taken by surprise so she didn't try to free it right away. But as soon as he brought her still bloody fingers to his mouth and began to lick them she grimaced and gave her arm a good yank.

"Ew! What are you doing Inuyasha?! That's gross!"

"It's demon tradition Kagome." He said, fixing her with a bit of a serious look. "I'm supposed to lick off the blood from your maidenhead, and since I know you won't be okay with me licking the source, I'm just gonna have to settle for your fingers."

"That's still grosssss…" She griped, but stopped trying to free her hand, just looking away while he finished up with it.

"Why?" He asked after he was done. "It's just your hand after all."

"It's not that…it's, you know, what's on my hand that's embarrassing and gross."

He shrugged. "It's fine, aside from the plant goop. That makes it taste a little off." He grimaced.

She couldn't help but laugh at that. The blood and her own fluids he was fine with, but throw vegetables into the mix and he wasn't. So typical.

That eased the atmosphere.

He left her to continue doing her best to try and tear what she could, but before he exited the doorway he said, "Don't worry too much about it Kagome. We'll work it out when it comes to that."

She blushed a bit, but overall was touched by his concern and comforting words and gave him a smile in reply as he left the hut. For a while, she continued to work hard on it, managing to make decent headway, but not as much as she would like. After an hour she ended up quite sore indeed, and rather concerned about the actual deed and how much it would hurt then if even this little amount had left her so sore.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hi all, Happy Easter! I hope this chapter was as funny for you to read as it was for me to write.

Now yes, I know giving Kagome a "physical issue" was unnecessary, but one thing I like to do in my stories is put in real issues that some people really suffer from, in an attempt to draw awareness and compassion. Some of these issues are emotional, others are physical, but whatever the case I believe they deserve to be written about - given a voice as it were. In this case, it's a sexual issue resulting from a physical situation that some women actually do suffer from.

In this setting of course there is a lot of humor and such, but it will cause Kagome some problems as you will see in the next chapter.

Anyways, I'm off my soapbox now.

As always, a great big happy thanks to all my fantastic and wonderful reviewers. I couldn't do it without you. You inspire me and give me the courage to keep on writing. :D


	29. Chapter 29

The next day, Inuyasha and Kagome both approached Kaede. Inuyasha had told her that they would need to seek approval from the matriarch of the village, doubly so since she acted as Kagome's guardian here in the feudal era. Neither of them were worried though. After all, it was obvious that Kaede was happy about their relationship so far.

"Kaede, I would formally like to seek your blessing to wed this woman beside me." Inuyasha said, while Kagome rolled her eyes, finding it a bit ridiculous that Inuyasha had to ask for her hand. Then again, it was the feudal era, so 'old fashioned' was going to be the norm.

Kaede smiled broadly, as they had both expected, and a gleam of excitement and happiness filled her eyes. "Inuyasha! So ye finally manned up and asked her did ye? I can't tell ye both how proud and happy I am to see this day."

After giving a slight scowl at the gentle teasing, Inuyasha perked up again, smiling in a way that was so rare for him to do, pure happiness in his expression. "Yeah well…it was a long time coming."

"Indeed, that it was." Kaede agreed, and turned to Kagome. "Of course I'm assuming ye have no objections to entering into wedlock with this man?"

Kagome actually began to laugh at that. "No…do you really have to ask?" She finally sputtered.

"Well, it is tradition ye know. But of course I already knew the answer."

Kagome just laughed some more.

After that, Sango and Miroku were told, as were Shippō and everyone else in the village. Nobody was surprised. In fact, Miroku simply said, "Well it's about time."

He received a smack to his head – as per usual – and Sango said with a smile, "What he means is, Congratulations."

She was very pregnant now, her belly swollen and preventing her from carrying the Hiraikotsu at all, so she had to resort to just swatting her husband on the head instead of whacking him with her weapon as she used to. It was a change that Miroku was obviously very happy about.

Preparations were immediately underway, and for the next few weeks, Kagome's head was spinning at how fast everything came together. It seemed, here in the feudal era, that a proposal meant the wedding would come to pass shortly thereafter. She supposed she should have expected it. After all, Miroku and Sango had been wed in a matter of weeks after Naraku had finally kicked the bucket.

The swift pace at which everything was moving unnerved her a tad, but overall she was simple very happy and excited. She had wanted this day to happen for so long. Though really, as Inuyasha had already expressed months ago at Sango and Miroku's wedding, she also felt they were basically already married. Perhaps the notion of _'mating-equals-marriage'_ had rubbed off on her when she hadn't been looking. But still, she knew that for her it wouldn't really feel _real_ until the day of their actual wedding, and so for that she was very nearly giddy.

And yet…as the big day quickly approached, she began to feel a bundle of nerves slowly building up in her gut. It wasn't as though she was worried about it, but it was a really big step. She was still only eighteen, and though wedding at this age was normal for the people in feudal Japan, it was generally looked down on in her own time. That didn't really bother her, but growing up with that concept still did somewhat affect her feelings about it, in the form of nerves. Plus, the preparations were ever so slightly stressful as well.

Over the next few weeks there were many things to do. Both in the feudal era and in her own time.

As soon as she told her family about the upcoming ceremony, they had also begun preparations – once as they got over their shock at the speed of it all. The plan was to complete the ceremony in the feudal era, then hop over to her time and do another, small ceremony in the shrine their family tended. It would only be her family at that ceremony.

After that, they would have a short party at her house, including sake and food. Meanwhile, the merriment back in the village would be set up, and by the time Kagome and Inuyasha returned, there would be a large village wide celebration underway. It would be just as involved as the party after Sango's and Miroku's wedding, complete with food, sake, dancing, and music.

So, to prepare for both ceremonies, Kagome found herself hopping back and forth, picking out flowers in her time at a florist, planning out and buying ingredients for the food, and figuring out what she was going to wear. She wanted to wear a traditional kimono that would be acceptable in the feudal era, and as it turned out; her grandfather had one stored in his precious storage house. It had been passed down through the family. Though it was quite old, it was still in relatively good condition, and was quite magnificent. It was a two-layered kimono, with the bottom layer being a vibrant scarlet embroidered with white cherry blossoms, and the top layer a lovely white embroidered with even whiter cranes and clouds.

There was some fraying and the stitching had come undone in places, and so Kagome took it to Kaede, who found a woman in the village that was exceptionally talented with needle work. Given that the woman owed Kaede her life several times over, the villager was more than happy to fix the kimono, and even added some extra detailing to make it even more beautiful.

Miroku went to get the finest sake, from his mentor of course, the perpetually drunken monk Mushin. Sango assisted in the procuring of ingredients for food, flying out on Kilala to other villages to purchase foods they didn't have available in the village. She could still fly on Kilala, though soon she wouldn't even be able to do that as her pregnancy advanced. Shippō scoped out the forest to find the prettiest flowers. Kagome accompanied him on a few of these excursions, and helped pick out which ones they would be using. And Inuyasha…well he didn't do all that much. Mostly he attempted to stay out of everyone's way, much to Kagome's amusement. He had started by poking his nose into everything, but had quickly been scolded by Kaede and Kagome and Sango, and even Shippō and Miroku once or twice for getting in the way. Planning and groundwork wasn't exactly his thing after all.

The preparations went relatively smoothly, everything falling into place perfectly for the most part. But it was still very busy, and so the time passed in a whirlwind for Kagome, and almost before she knew it the wedding was virtually on top of her.

The day before, Sango accompanied Kagome to cleanse herself in a waterfall, returning the favor Kagome had done for her on her wedding's eve. She was to sit under a waterfall while wearing what amounted to a sleeping robe, and stay there for a while. Supposedly, she was also meant to do some praying and meditating on a happy and fruitful marriage life during this time, which once again made her roll her eyes at the archaic tinge to it. Yes, naturally as the bride she was supposed to purify herself by sitting under a waterfall in a thin white robe, while praying for fertility. However, despite her slightly sarcastic musings, in the end the ritual struck her as spiritual and worthwhile. Praying for a good future and happy home seemed like a good thing to do before her wedding, and the bath was only an added bonus.

Unfortunately, 'bath' wasn't necessary the right wording for the experience. A bath usually meant warm water, and the waterfall was far from warm. It wasn't even tepid. Given the frigid nature of the water, it was understandable that the cleansing ritual ended up being more unpleasant for Kagome than she had expected. She was rather notoriously known for having an intolerance for bathing in cold water – aside from that single time when she had been attempting to clear her head months ago.

Given her reputation, Sango wasn't surprised in the least when she complained, though she did gently remind Kagome that she was supposed to be quiet during this ritual. Grumbling under her breath, Kagome sulkily complied.

At first, all she could think about was the cold water, and then the discomfort of her yukata being plastered to her skin in an exceptionally uncomfortable manner. After a while though, the constant rhythm on her head soothed her in an odd way, despite giving her a mild headache. It almost lulled her into a trancelike state.

It was at this point that she remembered to think about a good married life and such, and so quickly directed her thoughts towards her future with Inuyasha. She could easily imagine herself fighting by his side for years and years, and eventually – perhaps after they had finally regathered the jewel shards – maybe even have children of their own. Inuyasha hadn't expressed any sort of negative feelings towards the thought when it had been brought up before after all. The thought gave her mild shivers, both of anticipation and nerves. She loved the thought of raising a family with Inuyasha, but the thought of having children sort of scared her. There was no way she'd be ready for that any time soon. But still, it was a nice fantasy for the future.

Lost inside her imagination of what their future would hold, she spent longer than she had anticipated in the waterfall. Eventually though, it did get to be too chilly for her, and at that point she removed herself from the water. Sango helped her out of the wet clinging yukata, and handed her a dry one, before they made their way to the shrine. There, Sango and Kaede both anointed her in oils while incense burned in the holders in the shrine. It was lovely and relaxing, and Kagome felt like she was in a spa.

They spent some quality 'girl time' in Kagome's opinion, and it almost reminded her of spending time with her friends, or perhaps her mother and a sister if she had one. It felt familial and loving, which was only increased when Kaede presented Kagome with a wedding trousseau. In history lessons Kagome had learned that the families of feudal era brides would put together and give her a trousseau to take with her to her husband's house after the wedding. It was part of her dowry, and could contain many expensive and luxurious items in the case of nobles.

The trousseau that Kaede gave her was much more practical of course. It contained a chest full of all sorts of herbs, many of which were rare and hard to find, that had been dried with care and attention to detail. She must have been working on it for months, and it probably contained some of her own reserves. It also held a manual, which was in Kaede's own neat handwriting, that detailed much of what she had already taught Kagome, and many new things as well, on healing and using herbs, and even included instructions on some basic sutras and other such priestess powers. In another chest Kaede had prepared a new set of pristine holy arrows, a new arm guard, and a brand new set of her own priestess robes.

Touched beyond belief, Kagome instantly hugged the old priestess, while saying, "Thank you Kaede!" prolifically into her shoulder.

Kaede patted her on the back and murmured "Tis nothing child. Ye are family after all."

Technically Kagome supposed Kaede was right. After all, she was a reincarnation of Kaede's older sister. Still, to hear her say it was extremely poignant.

After the gifts and the relaxing spa time with her women friends, Kagome slept very well indeed, somehow managing to skip the before wedding jitters. The next morning she made up for it though, by waking up all in a tizzy. For the whole first part of the day it seemed, Sango and Kaede fussed over Kagome, doing her hair, helping her into her kimonos, and doing her makeup. All the while, they teased her, in the same way Kagome and Kaede had teased Sango before her wedding. She supposed it was only fair, so she didn't protest the gentle ribbing and laughed along companionably.

"So…Kagome." Sango started, a twinkle in her eyes giving away her intentions. "Are _you_ ready for your wedding night?"

It was almost the same question she had asked Sango several months ago, and she gave the pregnant woman a sour look. "Of course." She stated, attempting to sound confidant, but the vivid blush gave her away.

That got a grin from the other two women.

"Oh, aye. That is good Kagome. I was concerned perhaps Inuyasha had not told ye of the mating ceremony."

Kagome gave Kaede an equally acidic look. "He did…just not, uh, all the details. But I'm sure it's not too much different from a normal…wedding night."

"Mayhap not. Yet ye should be well prepared for differences."

"She's right Kagome. I mean, I don't know a lot about it, but after being a demon hunter you pick up a few things. And I've definitely heard that 'mating' can be…intense."

"Indeed. And as ye had seen for yerself I'm sure, not all demon males are the same as human males. Anatomy can differ significantly. Ye are lucky that Inuyasha seems so close to a human. However, ye may do well to prepare yerself for any possible differences that may arise."

None of that really helped Kagome feel any better about something she was already pretty nervous about. Seeing her discomfort, Sango was quick to say, "Oh, but I'm sure it won't be bad or anything. After all, Inuyasha would never do anything to hurt you. Probably it will just be…very, uh, enjoyable."

Kagome glanced at her, and then almost laughed at how Sango had managed to make herself blush. Feeling a little better about it, she cleared her throat and replied, "Yeah. Uh, thanks Sango."

"No problem. Besides…I'm not really supposed to tell you this… but, Miroku said that he had a 'talk' with Inuyasha. He's pretty confident that Inuyasha knows enough to make your first time…very nice."

"Wait, Miroku had a talk with Inuyasha? As in, like, how to 'do it'?"

"Well, not exactly. He said that Inuyasha already knew all the basics, he just didn't know any technics on how to make it good for you."

The fact that Miroku had educated Inuyasha was relieving, terrifying, and also rather embarrassing. On the one hand, the fact that Inuyasha had an idea of what he was doing was probably good, and maybe there would be less awkwardness and potential accidents, like with his claws and/or fangs in delicate places. It was also kind of exciting. Since Miroku was apparently so good at it, maybe he had taught Inuyasha some of that…which would mean it may be very pleasurable, a thought that sent pleasant tingles through her. And yet, it was also a bit scary. As shy as she still was, the thought that he would now potentially know how to make her orgasm, whether or not she wanted to, was as nerve-wracking as it was thrilling. Which was stupid and she knew it. It wasn't as though she didn't want to be that intimate with him - she very much did - it was just that it was still a bit daunting given how slow they had been going.

Lately – after some thinking about their physical relationship – she had decided that the reason she had stopped Inuyasha from touching her further that one time a few weeks ago at her house, was because she had subconsciously wanted to save something new for the wedding night. She had done a good job of that, since he hadn't ever really touched or seen her between her legs at all. On the one hand she was happy about that because it made tonight even more exciting to think about, but on the other of course there was her ever-present embarrassment and bashfulness.

Perhaps it was silly of her to be so nervous about tonight. But then again they had been progressing so slowly, with such long dry periods in between any alone time, that the thought of suddenly doing _everything_ intimate tonight all at once was still pretty daunting. The thought that tonight would be the night…it made her clench up in all kinds of conflicting, wonderful, scary ways.

But above everything else…was simple joy and wonder that this was even happening.

Soon, it was time to leave Kaede's hut and make her way to the shrine, accompanied by Sango and Kaede. Outside of the hut, they met up with Shippō, who was fresh as a daisy with shiny newly-combed hair tied up in an especially bright blue ribbon. He was vibrating with joy, as was plain to see in his broadly grinning face, and he quickly took his position in front of her in their procession.

The little fox kit had been worried at first about this wedding, and Kagome had quickly realized that he was jealous and concerned that she wouldn't have any more time for him after getting married. She was fully aware that she was nearly a substitute mother for him, though that was a shared responsibility with Sango now, who had gotten much more maternal as all her mommy-hormones kicked into high gear during her pregnancy. That fact alone had soothed the kit a great deal, but Kagome had still needed to reassure him that she would still have lots of time to play with him. He couldn't sleep with her anymore after marrying Inuyasha – a fact her betrothed had point-blank told her when it came up one day – but she had made it up to Shippō by promising extra time during the day. Sango had also been helpful there as well, because she promised that Shippō would soon have a little 'brother' or 'sister' that he could sleep with and help her care for.

Shippō had surprisingly turned out to possess very strong brotherly instincts, because at the thought of having a young 'sibling' to look after, he had become instantly okay with not being able to sleep with Kagome any more. And so today, he was beaming with bright happy joy, without a shred of jealousy or upset marring the expression.

Kagome relaxed a good deal at seeing her youngest friend, and she felt her tense muscles ease. He handed her a small cluster of bright beautiful flowers he had just freshly picked and bound with ribbon, and then turned and began prancing along in front of her down the path. Their trek through the village was swift, and soon they had arrived at the base of the hill upon which the shrine perched. As she walked up the steps which had been strewn and draped with flowers by Shippō, she felt excited, nervous, and happier than she ever remembered being in her entire life.

The feel of her kimono was luxurious, and made it all even more real, the weight and pressure of it wrapped around her grounding her to the situation in a wonderful way. It was snug, made even more so by the obi Sango and Kaede had wrapped and tied around her. She hadn't ever worn a formal kimono before, and hadn't known that the obi would be so heavy. But far from being uncomfortable, it was a soothing, luxurious weight which made her feel even more special. Much like her done up hair and the pull of it on her scalp. It was also tight, and could be considered uncomfortable, but perhaps Kagome simply couldn't feel any pain today due to her pure joy. The tinkling sounds of the long glass beads and tiny bells dangling down from the multiple sticks holding her hair up sounded like music to her ears, and perfectly accompanied the gentle instruments that marked her passage up the steps. She could also hear the sound of the silk sliding across the ground behind her, and knew it was probably picking up all the flowers. Undoubtedly it would get dirty, but fortunately she had access to dry cleaning back home, and would hand over the gorgeous garment to her mother perhaps tomorrow. Or the next day. So her mind was blessedly clear of worries about it, and she found the thought of her hem gathering flowers charming.

Upon arriving at the shrine, she wasn't surprised to see that Inuyasha was wearing his normal clothes, but over them he wore a knee-length sleeveless tunic made of black silk that was embroidered with red flowers of some sort on the back. She was pretty sure he was borrowing it from Miroku, but whatever the case he looked exceptionally good in it. His long silky hair also looked more neatly groomed than usual and when she got close to him she could even smell a faint whiff of soap drift from him. His eyes were bright and excited, if a bit nervous, and she gave him a broad smile. The anxiety eased from his face and he returned the expression, his eyes flicking up and down her in long appreciative looks. He almost looked dazed in fact, and the thought that it was because of her increased her happiness tenfold. After a protracted shared look, they turned to participate in the ceremony.

The ceremony itself passed by in a daze overflowing with happiness.

Soon, it was time to hop over to her time. Her grandfather presided over that ceremony held in their shrine, and it was over even faster than the one back in the feudal era. Before long she found herself inside her home at the table overflowing with snacks and goodies, watching her little brother dancing around like a crazy person with bells attached to sticks. He had been trained by her grandfather to do a traditional dance for ceremonies such as these, though it was obvious he wasn't overly enthused by the honor. That probably had to do with the fact that the dance was normally performed by a priestess.

During the performance, her mother leaned in and gave her a hug and kiss and whispered, "You are so beautiful today, Kagome. I am so happy for you."

"Thank you Mom. I'm happy for me too." Kagome responded in a whisper, sending a quick grin her way before continuing to watch the performance.

After Sota had finally finished, they all gathered together and talked and laughed, and her mother told Inuyasha embarrassing stories about her childhood. Over all it was fun and nostalgic, but soon it was time to return back to the feudal era. Her family all took turns hugging her and kissing her with teary eyes, and her grandfather pulled Inuyasha aside to give him the talk…the same one Kohaku had given to Miroku on his and Sango's wedding day. Kagome imagined that Grandpa was threatening her new husband with every nefarious and terrifying relic he possessed. All of which would probably do little to nothing. But one could never tell with him. After all, his shed had produced a deadly body eating mask and a demonically possessed sword, both of which had nearly killed them. So who knew what else he had stashed away.

Eventually, they managed to untangle themselves from her family, and jumped back through the well. Once back in the feudal era, they joined in on the celebrations there, indulging in more food and drink and enjoying themselves. Kagome indulged in some sake, which of course wasn't monitored here in the feudal era, and quickly grew just ever so slightly buzzed, which helped her mounting nerves as the evening turned into dusk. As everyone imbibed, tongues loosened, and the gathering darkness brought with it more pointed jokes and teasing comments about the night. Kagome found herself fending off women she barely knew from the village who all wanted to give her tips on how to please her new husband.

That of course didn't help her nerves, though it did rouse her curiosity and cause her anticipation to climb higher. She was still nervous about tonight, but was also equally excited about it. Still, the comments and advice were wearing on her a bit, and eventually she managed to escape with Sango for a breath of fresh air away from the gossipmongers and busybodies of the village.

"Did you have to deal with this on your wedding day?" She asked Sango with a harried look back at the huddled women they had just peeled off from.

Sango laughed, her voice slightly husky from tiredness. "Yes, I'm afraid so. It only gets worse the more they drink too. So the sooner you leave the better I would say."

Kagome chuckled. "Thanks for the advice."

"Don't mention it." Sango sighed, resting a hand on her back and wincing a little.

"Speaking of, you should probably head home yourself. You look fit to fall asleep on your feet."

"I do?" She grimaced, and then at Kagome's nod she groaned. "I'm not surprised. The baby's heavy today. The little guy's been active and wiggly too. I guess he's excited about your wedding too."

"Awww, well the little one has had more than enough excitement for today. Thank you so much for everything Sango."

"Of course." Her dark haired friend said with a genuine smile and they hugged gingerly for a moment – Kagome being careful with her swollen belly – and then Sango turned and headed off to find Miroku.

Kagome returned to the party, determining that it would be bad manners to leave just yet, especially after all of the trouble everyone went to in planning and preparing for the celebrations. She didn't know how much longer she could stay though, as she almost immediately got snatched up by the women again, who had come up with a whole new slew of things to say to her. Now the topic was 'wedding night experiences' and the village ladies all started laughing and joking about their own. It was unsettling to say the least, especially when they eventually branched off of that and started wondering at Inuyasha and how he would match up to their various husbands. They were all very nice women, and Kagome could tell she would be able to make friends with all of them, however they were making her nerves much worse.

She caught Inuyasha sending her loving and slightly exasperated looks as her anxiety mounted, and wondered if he knew.

Inuyasha could smell it on her. Her scent kept fluctuating, and he could tell she was anxious…and when he tuned his ears into what was going on over at her side of the celebration, he could hear all the ladies talking about wedding night things. It was slightly amusing, and he tried to keep his smirk at bay. He had found her shyness rather endearing and funny, though at the same time it did cause him some irritation since it had stymied their progress in the physical department a great deal. Tonight though, he was also a bit nervous, so he couldn't exactly blame her - not that he would ever tell her that. There was no way that he would ever tell _anyone_ that he had been anxious about mating with Kagome for the first time. It was downright humiliating.

It didn't help that Miroku had pulled him aside yesterday and reiterated some of the things he had already told him, during that one supremely awkward conversation. It had only served to make Inuyasha even more nervous about tonight, though it had also rekindled that interest and curiosity he had felt the first time upon learning these things…not that it had ever faded. He honestly couldn't wait to try out some of the stuff Miroku had suggested on Kagome, but at the same time he couldn't help but worry he wouldn't be good at it, or that he would accidentally hurt her.

Kagome of course didn't know what he was thinking about, or that he was thinking many of the same things she was, but she did know that he was a bit tense. Still, he fully participated in the celebrations, as did she, and over all they had an extremely enjoyable afternoon.

Once the sun began setting for real, they were finally able to remove themselves from the celebration, which was winding down, and everyone saw them off with smiles, congratulations, and well wishes.

Inuyasha took her hand and started leading her out of the village, into the forest. At this point, Kagome realized for the first time that she hadn't even considered where they would spend their first night together as husband and wife. It was a rather stupid thing to overlook, in hindsight. She had even made sure that Sango had a place to consummate her marriage with Miroku, so why hadn't she thought about it for herself? The only answer she could think of, was that she had been so concerned about the mating itself, that she hadn't had the brain-power left to consider where it would take place.

And so, as Inuyasha led her into the woods, she grew curious. Where was he taking her?

"Um, Inuyasha? Where are we going?"

"You'll see." Was all the reply she got. However, the tone of his voice was excited and nervous, and told her that he had something he wanted to show her. Whatever it was, she could tell it was a big deal to him. So, she kept quiet and waited, growing excited herself to see whatever it was that Inuyasha wanted to show her.

Soon, a little ways out from the village, they came upon a clearing in the forest that butted up against a cliff face. Inside the clearing was a lovely little hut, quite tiny really, which was leaning against the cliff.

"Inuyasha…what is…?" She asked, staring wide-eyed at the small settlement.

"Well…we're gonna live together like real mates now right? We gotta have a den." He said, rubbing his neck slightly uncomfortably, his ears twitching to show his unease.

"You built this?"

"Well yeah, obviously."

"Wow…" Happiness flooded her.

"I know it ain't much to look at out here…but…"

"No, it's perfect!" She quickly interrupted him, not waiting to see what he said.

A shy grin curled his lips and his ears first tilted towards her and then went out to the sides some in a rare show of bashfulness as he flushed with pleasure. "Oh…that's uh, that's great. I'm glad you like it….Wanna see inside?"

"Absolutely!"

At her eager confirmation, he led her to the entrance, which was covered by a reed door. Once inside, Kagome gaped, shocked by what she saw. The small hut was apparently only a small entryway into a much larger space that had been carved out of the cliff face, making a roomy cave. The walls had been furnished with reed mats, which made it look less like a cave and more like an actual room, but the ceiling was still stone, giving it away. Judging by the distinct spiral patterns on the roof, it looked like he had wind-scarred the cave to form it. How he had managed to do it without either destroying the whole cliff face or causing a cave in, she had no idea.

The cave was reinforced with roughhewn wooden beams that he had probably also cut with his sword. They were placed against the walls periodically and across the ceiling, which made her feel secure in the viability of the structure. The floors were clean smooth stone, and they had been covered with reed mats as well. The wooden hut entryway was small, but had a space for shoes and robes and whatever else, and Inuyasha took off his fire rat robe and hung it on a wooden peg in the wall. He also propped up his sword there against the wall. Kagome took off her traditional sandals and socks and carefully placed them in a niche in the wall seemingly for that purpose. Walking further into the room, the space opened up once in the cave.

It was one large room, at the center of which was a fire pit. He had somehow carved out a narrow pipe like chimney in the roof of the cave that went all the way up like a very small well to the top of the cliff, where he had placed a proper chimney top to prevent rain from getting in. How he had managed that, she didn't know. It seemed impossible. Off to the side was a large niche, where he had hollowed out the floor in a square and somehow procured and brought over a mattress from her time. It was one of those memory foam mattresses that didn't have springs and such inside, so he must have somehow forced it to curve just enough to fit through the well. On top of the mattress were furs which he must have cured very well, because she didn't smell any kind of stank from them. He had even brought over proper pillows and a fluffy comforter. It looked even more inviting than her own bed back home.

Off to one side was a hallway he had carved out, some sort of tunnel. When he noticed her looking at it curiously, he said, "That leads to the hot spring I showed you the other day."

"Oh! So that's why you were so careful to lead me there, you didn't want me to see this."

"Not until it was done at least." He responded with a grin.

"So I guess this is where you've been disappearing off to for the past few weeks huh?"

"Yeah. Took longer than I expected." He responded slightly gruffly.

"I'm amazed you managed to do all this in the amount of time you did it in."

"Demon, remember?" He said with a slight grin and cocked eyebrow.

"Right."

He beckoned her over to join him in sitting near the fire pit, on some sitting cushions, while he started up a brand new fire. Once it was crackling merrily, he joined her.

"So." He paused, as if looking for the right words. "Do you want to…go ahead with the mating ceremony or hold off on it for a bit?"

Flushing, she was struck by a surge of playfulness and couldn't resist the urge to tease him a little. "Oh? I thought you said you weren't going to take no for an answer?"

He sent her an amused look and cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not. Just wanted to know if you wanted a few hours' breather is all."

She snorted, finding his response typical. But she still gave the offer serious thought. She was nervous, very much so, but also extremely excited and full of anticipatory energy. Everything was a bit jumbled up inside her and confused her. But in the end, she decided that she wanted to go ahead and go for it.

"I…I'd like to do it. I want to mate with you."

His eyes flared bright, but then he visibly restrained himself. Clearing his throat, he said in a slightly more husky tone of voice, "Are you sure? You're trembling a little."

Not having realized it until now, she was a bit shocked to realize that yes she was indeed trembling. "Oh, I, uh, I'm just nervous. But…I'll just get more nervous the longer we wait. And I really do want to…I just… we haven't done this before. It's not like I'm scared." The end statement came out a little defensive and huffy.

He grinned a little wider. "Isn't being nervous the same as being scared?"

She playfully scowled at him. "No. I'm not scared at all. Being nervous just means I'm a little…I guess jittery and shy."

"So…same as usual." He rolled his eyes, hiding a laugh behind a cough. "You're so damn predictable Kagome. Told ya shyness wasn't gonna fly tonight."

"I mean it's not something I can just turn off! It's not my fault we haven't had a lot of situations where we could do stuff. It's still pretty new!"

"We've done plenty." He dismissed, rolling his eyes again at her drama.

Even she knew she was being a bit of a drama queen, but she was doing her best to try and explain why she was nervous. After all, she didn't want him thinking it was because of something stupid like a lack of trust or a lack of desire for him. That was as far from the truth as the Arctic Pole was from the Antarctic.

"Well, yeah, but those times have been few and far between, and after a certain period of time it all feels kinda new again. I've never really gotten the chance to... get _used_ to intimate stuff with you. Does that make sense?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Yeah. Sure. I guess I kinda see what you mean. Of course you've been shy from the get go."

At her huff, he scooted forwards and grabbed her cheek in his palm, insuring eye contact. "I get it, okay? And it's fine for you to be shy. You wouldn't be Kagome if you weren't. We'll work through it together. Kay?"

Relaxing under his touch and shockingly sensitive words, she nodded, most of the tension easing from her. She had grown more and more wound up as the day progressed, but now she started to realize how silly that had been. Inuyasha was right, they had done stuff like this before. Maybe not this intimate, but still…she shouldn't be worried about it. Nervous, yes, maybe a little, but not worried.

After a moment he pulled back, looking a little uncomfortable and cleared his throat sharply. "Well, we're gonna have to start with the blood ceremony."

She grimaced, not looking forward to this part at all.

He took out a bowl which it looked like he had carved himself out of some sort of red rock. Then, taking a very sharp looking knife, he held his wrist over the bowl and cut it, letting his blood drip down into the receptacle. After he had filled it halfway, he raised his wrist to his mouth to lick it, but Kagome grabbed it, saying, "Here, let me."

He blinked, looking startled, but then he handed over his wrist for her to heal. Taking off her fang necklace, she lapped at the slight wound, closing it with a few licks. As always, the blood didn't taste nearly as bad in her demon form, but it still wasn't strawberries and cream by any means. After closing the wound, he handed her the knife.

Gulping, she took the weapon and held it to her skin, her hand trembling. It wasn't as though she hadn't experienced pain before. Undoubtedly this wouldn't be nearly as bad as some of the stuff she had been forced to endure during her time in the feudal era. But somehow, there was something different about cutting herself. Seeing her fear, Inuyasha swiftly grabbed her hand while steadying the arm to be cut, and used his grip on her hand over the hilt of the blade to make her cut into herself. He did it so quickly that she didn't have time to freak out, and then it was over.

The cut itself hadn't hurt nearly as much as she had expected. As she let her blood drip into the bowl she mentioned it to Inuyasha, who said, "Not surprising. I made sure to sharpen it as much as possible to keep it from hurting too much."

Once she had bled enough, he sealed her wound as she had done his, licking at the cut on her wrist until it healed. Once she had stopped bleeding, he released her and picked up the bowl of their combined blood. He very gently swirled the viscous liquid, mixing their blood until the scent combined.

"This is gonna be the part you're not gonna like." He warned, and she nodded, already having figured that out for herself.

Taking the bowl, he lifted it to his lips and drank, making Kagome cringe at the thick sounding swallows. After a moment he drew the bowl away from his lips and handed it over to her. Looking down at the bowl of thick red liquid, she grimaced, a little cold sweat forming between her shoulder blades. The prospect of drinking blood like this…she honestly wasn't sure she was going to be able to do it.

Still, this was part of the mating ceremony, and by george she was going to do it…for Inuyasha. So, after her little pep talk, she took one hand, pinched her nose, scrunched up her eyes, and went for it. At the first thick mouthful though she lost her nerve and very nearly dropped the bowl. Inuyasha was quick, having already expected the reaction, and saved the remainder of the liquid.

The next problem presented itself swiftly after the first, as Kagome valiantly attempted to swallow, desperate to remove the blood from inside her mouth. Her throat refused to cooperate though, and she gagged, then very nearly threw up. Inuyasha's hand was instantly over her mouth. The act was not one of malicious intent, and he quickly followed it with him shifting behind her so that she could sit in his lap in his embrace as he lent her comfort and support to get her through it.

"Come on Kagome…you can do this. You have to swallow you know. Just try a little at a time…that's it…"

He talked her through it, and following his advice she tried swallowing little at a time, chipmunking the rest in her cheeks. After a decent length of time she finally managed to get it all down. Of course then she had another few mouthfuls to drink. This time though, she only took tiny little sips, refusing to look at it and doing her very best not to taste it. She took it like shots of alcohol in fact. Which helped a lot.

Like alcohol, it began to warm her from the inside out. Once down, the blood actually wasn't bad at all. She had sort of expected to get nauseous at it sitting heavily in her belly, but nothing of the sort happened. The more she consumed, the stronger the pleasant warmth, and she began to realize that it was actually some sort of bond being formed between them. The warmth was like a gentle buzz in her stomach, one that slowly spread through the rest of her body, and somehow she could feel a responding buzz in him. It was similar to the claiming in fact, the way she was so much more aware of him. Only now, this ceremony seemed to be building off that first link between them and was forming almost a resonance between their very souls, if that was even possible. Perhaps it was because his blood was already in her that it felt so strong, but whatever the case, she soon grew eager to see it to its completion, and the last few swallows were done more swiftly.

Once it was finally over she very nearly dropped the bowl from relief. Once again, Inuyasha managed to catch it and set it safely aside.

That had taken a lot out of her surprisingly, perhaps simply because it had been so horrific. Yes, the results were wonderful, but the process getting there had still exhausted her. So she was grateful to be able to lean against him and relax and catch her breath. It seemed like she hadn't properly breathed through the whole thing, and now she was out of breath and a little sweaty and shaky all over.

Somehow though, she sensed that he could sense how she felt – as if the link between them was so tight now that he could feel how she was feeling and vice a versa. It was nice, and meant she didn't have to explain why she needed a moment to collect herself.

In fact, she took the moment to luxuriate in the new connection, and happily sunk into the physical warmth of his body behind hers, supporting her, and the mental and emotional warmth of his essence alongside hers. She could feel him inside her now in a way, as if he was in her mind and soul and was comforting her from the inside out. He had been able to tell how difficult for her that was. And conversely she could feel through the connection how proud of her he was for struggling through it. It was truly marvelous how much they could tell about each other with this new bond between them.

After a long moment of just relaxing and recovering, Inuyasha nuzzled her ear and murmured, "You wanna rest for a little while in bed?"

She shivered a little at the word 'bed,' knowing that they would be doing much more than resting there tonight. It sent a thrill through her, one that he could feel, and a responding deep chuckle rumbled against her back.

"Sure…that sounds like a good idea."

Not waiting for her to get her legs under her, he simply scooped her up and carried her over to the bed, which she found amusing for a few different reasons. The largest reason was because it seemed so cliché and cheesy. Even so, it was also kind of wonderful. Up until he dropped her on the mattress rather unceremoniously, though not rough enough to hurt her.

She landed in a tangle of limbs and gasped, mock-glaring up at him for it. "Hey!"

He just grinned and followed her down onto the comfortable bed piled high in furs and cuddled up to her. It was obvious he was ready for a snuggle, being the secret cuddle-bunny that he was - a fact which never ceased to surprise and amuse her. For such a big gruff and tough demon, he sure loved to wrap himself around her and nuzzle as deep as he could go into her hair and shoulder.

She knew they were soon going to be engaged in some not-so-comfortable situations, so she luxuriated in the brief respite before the storm.

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Author's Note:

Am I evil for cutting it here? Yes I am.

Mwahahaha. But never fear, because the next chapter will be exactly what you're all thinking it will be. One, really big, perhaps too detailed lemon of epic proportions that is still currently under construction.

I hope the wedding and everything before and after met everyone's expectations. :3

As always, a big thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review this story. :D We're almost done with this one actually. *sniff* And so I just want to thank everyone for following along with me this far. It's been a truly wonderful ride.

BTW, the next story I'm planning is for Soul Eater, so keep your eyes out for that one if you like SE. ;)


	30. Chapter 30

_**Author's Note: Fair warning you guys, this gets VERY explicit and could be considered kinky in a few different ways – so if intense lemony goodness is not your thing, feel free to skim or even skip. You have been warned.**_

* * *

They cuddled together for a while, but that buzz sitting in Kagome's chest never seemed to go away. The link between them vibrated like a pot of glowing fireflies, and she basked in the feeling of being so tightly connected to the person she loved. It was exhilarating and scary and comforting and warm and so many other things she wouldn't even know how to begin to explain the sensation.

Through their soul-deep connection, she could feel Inuyasha's conflicting feelings too, how he was chomping at the bit to get to the next stage of actual lovemaking, but at the same time was also perfectly content and happy with holding her like this. To be honest, she felt much the same way, only her emotional cocktail was still spiced with some shyness and some nerves. She knew he could feel her heart the way she felt his, so he was privy to her wedding night jitters - which to be honest was kind of a relief. Hopefully he would take his time and go slow.

To her surprise he was also a little anxious, and that helped her to ease up some as well, knowing that they were in the same boat. It made sense, though she had never really expected the bold, confident, brash, and impulsive Inuyasha to get skittish around sex, but he was a virgin too and this was kind of a big deal. They had done stuff sure, but never actually got naked together or really touched each other's most private areas directly. It seemed there was still enough new stuff to be explored tonight to make even him nervous.

So cuddling helped both of them to calm down some, being that it was something they had done many times before. It was known territory and it gave them some solid footing to go off of.

Cuddling though, brought up a few problems and discomforts, the large one being that Kagome's wedding Kimono was not made to be in the neighborhood of comfortable pajama clothes. It was unyielding, and after a few minutes one arm began to fall asleep where the sleeve was cutting off her circulation and the band around her waist had tightened enough that it was constricting her breathing just a tad.

So, the first order of business would be to remove her clothing, which wasn't too unnerving since she wore a very thin slip underneath from her time period.

To accomplish this task, she somewhat awkwardly and also carefully maneuvered her way into a kneeling position on the bed, making sure not to harm the beautiful garment in any way. The last thing she wanted was to pull out one of the meticulously resewn seams.

Inuyasha picked up on her intentions quickly as she perched on her knees and reached behind her to attempt to finagle the obi, which was a tedious job for her since she was distinctly unfamiliar with them.

After a few minutes of watching her fussing blindly and making faces he finally snorted and said, "Need some help?"

"Yeah…" She sighed in defeat, and shuffled on her knees in a circle so he had access to her back.

He didn't exactly know what was what either, but at least he had a better view of it so he could see what he was doing. It still took some time and a few cusses from her new husband, but eventually the material went slack and then slithered into her lap with a plop of silk.

"Finally! Stubborn little fucker…"

Kagome couldn't help but laugh. _Always the charmer_. "How romantic Inuyasha…" She snorted, teasing him lightly.

She shuffled back around in time to see his cheeks glow pink. "Well it was." He stubbornly insisted by way of explanation.

"Yeah, no kidding. I don't know how women wear this stuff on a daily basis in these times."

He shrugged. "Dunno, just glad I don't have to wear shit like that."

She grinned.

With the obi off, it was a much simpler matter to peel the heavy silk of the kimonos off, though she did find that she needed to stand to finish the process, since they got stuck under her thighs. The material had been rather thick, and so it was a relief to get them off and feel some air on her slightly sweaty skin. But now that they were off, she was left with the problem of where to put them, since she didn't just want to toss them on the floor. The answer was simple of course, and came to her within seconds. With a grin she trotted over to the entryway and carefully hung the garments on the pegs in the wall next to Inuyasha's red robe.

Now she was left in just a thin silk slip with spaghetti straps and a deep V-neck. It was short, only brushing the tops of her thighs, and was sheer enough that Inuyasha could probably see her breasts in the firelight, and she had a little bout of nerves as she turned to walk back to the bed. Still, he had seen her in something just as revealing before, she reminded herself, and so this wasn't a big deal.

His gold stare was slightly unnerving though in its intensity as he observed her on her way back, his eyes sliding up and down her form slowly as if drinking in the sight of her. He had looked at her with that particular glow in his eyes before, a mixture of anticipation, excitement, lust, and wonder, but never quite this intensely. Maybe it was due to the knowledge of what would happen tonight that had made his eyes so sharp, as if he could see right through her flimsy underthings and render her already naked.

His ears perched high on his head and tilted forwards in attention, taking in every soft pad of her feet against the cool stone of the floor, her slightly faster paced breathing, and probably even her racing heart.

Finally she made it back to the bed and eased herself down on it with a sigh, but couldn't quite bring herself to relax entirely. She would like to cuddle some more, but felt his emotions shifting, growing more intent through their new bond. He was gearing up for more than simple snuggles, that much was blatantly obvious.

She didn't lie back down, and he had sat up some, so they were now face to face sitting on the bed, looking at each other with the obvious question of _'what now?'_ hanging in the air between them. Kagome almost expected Inuyasha to pounce on her, given the hunger in his gaze and the lust she could feel simmering across their bond. Instead though, he eased closer to her, taking it slow, judging her reactions with a stare that had softened just a little.

The warm skin of his palm came into contact with her cheek as he lightly caressed her face, and then he softly asked, "Can I kiss you?"

It was so out of character for him really, though he had been soft and gentle with her before, that she had to process his question a few times before answering. The fact that he was going _this_ slow made her finally relax again, and she nodded with a soft hum of approval in her throat.

The kiss was gentle, tentative, explorative, almost like a first kiss in a way. He was testing the waters, pressing light almost teasing kisses to her lips first before sealing his moth to hers in a warm soft caress. The kiss matched the previous question in its consideration for her. Kagome melted into it, kissing him back with every bit of feeling that swelled within her.

She could feel his tight restraint and how much he was holding himself back; but at the same time she could feel all the soft mushy emotions that he kept so locked up flowing across their bond as well. The tender feelings resonated with her own and made them puff up higher, lighter, and warmer like a pastry in an oven.

She felt no hesitation in parting her lips and deepening the kiss. Inuyasha tasted of sake and the food they had eaten shortly before, and she probably tasted exactly the same, but neither of them were bothered by it. It was warm and wet and slowly grew more heated as they teased and played with each other's tongues in what could be considered a game or perhaps a rhythmic dance of giving and receiving.

When they parted it was with heavy quick breaths and a line of moisture that connected the two before breaking and wetting their lips. Kagome found that ever so slightly gross, while it only seemed to excite Inuyasha further.

They stared at each other, each taking in the other's reaction.

After a moment of contemplating each other, Kagome decided that he still had on too many clothes, which she deemed as unfair. So, she reached out a hand and wrapped her fingers around the collar of his white kosode, watching him carefully for his reaction. He sucked in a breath and his eyes widened slightly, apparently surprised that she was taking the lead. When he didn't protest - not that she could imagine him protesting - she inched even closer until she was essentially sitting on his knees as she explored the garment and eventually her fingers hunted out the ties holding it together. She busied herself with undoing those, blushing just a little as she did, but found the activity of undressing him surprisingly exciting.

Inuyasha sat there, patient for once, and let her undress him, only helping when she opened up the white shirt and slid it off his shoulders, at which point he shrugged his arms out of the sleeves and tossed it to the ground somewhere. Hopefully not on the fire.

That left him in his red hakama, and she found herself quickly enthralled with exploring his upper body with her suddenly curious and slightly greedy fingers. She had touched him before of course, but she hadn't ever been given the opportunity to just feel him like this and explore all the little dips and ripples of muscle that wrapped around his lean frame. He was not bulky, not muscular like the movie stars and body builders and models back home. Instead, his relatively slender frame was laced entirely by tight tendon and undulating lean muscles that he got from being on the road and fighting for his life daily. Really, he was perhaps a bit too thin, despite the fact that he ate so much, but he used every ounce of the energy he consumed in the exhausting fights and physically demanding life he led. The muscle he possessed was not for show, it wasn't swollen from hours spent in a gym, it was for use and that gave him the same lean wiry structure as a wild animal, a predator probably. He wasn't weighed down by extra bulk that did nothing but flex.

Kagome found him utterly beautiful. He was graceful in a way that superficially muscular men back in her time were not. Every muscle that she touched tensed and quivered under her touch, in a show of muscle control she doubted a body builder would possess.

And he was plainly enjoying every second of it, every tiny caress of her fingers, as his eyes slid shut and he started chewing on his bottom lip a little with one of his fangs. She could sense that it took him a great deal of control to keep himself still for her, but at the same time she could also feel the immense pleasure he took from the soft strokes of her fingers upon his skin.

She took the time to trace the few scars that had stuck around after all the battles, and as always she was amazed by how few there were. They were all faint and slightly raised, but hard to see, and she had to follow some of them more by touch than by sight. Having started at his neck and shoulders, she traveled down his body and eventually found herself grazing her fingers across his stomach. She grinned when the light touch prompted his abdominal muscles to jerk, tighten, and then quiver, almost as if she tickled him.

"Are you ticklish?" It wasn't a question that had ever occurred to her to ask, but now she was curious.

"N-no…" He stuttered, and she wasn't quite sure she believed him.

Experimentally she switched her light touches to a more firm one and gently scratched at his belly – mindful of her tiny claws – in a way that would undoubtedly cause someone who was ticklish to keel over with a howl of laughter. What she got however was not snickers or chuckles or guffaws, but rather a low gravelly moan that was distinctly not the sound of someone being tickled. His whole body jerked a little, and she felt one of his thighs twitch. Through their bond she could feel a blast of pleasure and also of shock.

It wasn't a response she had expected in the slightest, but after a moment of astonishment she considered it for a moment. Curiously, she gave him a few more belly scratches and got much the same sort of thing – some moans and twitches that looked and sounded like she was touching something significantly less innocent than his belly. With a groan he flopped back onto the bed, nearly unseating her as his legs unfolded. She was bumped up to all fours as his thighs pushed up to let his legs straiten and she caught herself with her palms on his chest. Once he had finished the position change, she cautiously sat on his thighs.

He seemed to be blushing and his ears were pinned back in embarrassment. His eyes were closed and he was still chewing on his lip, and now his fingers had tangled themselves into the furs piled high under them.

She decided to try this new thing one more time before asking about it, and so slid her hands down his chest to rub at his stomach again, thoroughly enjoying the marvelous groping of his muscles as she did so. The gentle tummy rubs got a sigh and he melted under her, but as soon as she switched back to light scratches he tensed up and bucked with a yelp, his body convulsing under her again as if she was doing something to the erection she could see clearly outlined in his pants.

It was an interesting discovery, and as she continued the experiment she noted that one thigh was spastically twitching under her butt. His head tossed to the side, and he released his lip from his teeth so he could pant and whine into the furs.

Deciding to give him a little breather, she stopped the scratching and went back to stroking instead. He instantly relaxed again with a sigh.

"So….I'm guessing that's not you being ticklish, huh?" She teased lightly, and he squinted one gold eye to give her a look.

"No. Obviously not."

"You seemed surprised. Did you not know about this?" She asked, giving a scratch in example.

The one stroke got a gasp and his neck arched back just a little, since apparently he hadn't expected it. "Guh…n-no, didn't know about that. Makes sense but…yeah, kinda a shock to the system…" He said, slightly brokenly since he was still breathing hard.

It did indeed make sense. He was a dog-demon, and dogs loved having their bellies scratched.

Moving on from the delightful discovery, Kagome trailed her fingers over his lower most abdomen and then traced the band of his hakama and explored the open sides. She had been tempted by the view of his hips every time he was only dressed in these damn pants, and so she finally allowed herself to stroke the exposed skin with a slight shiver of delight and a grin. He seemed to like it too and his hips flexed into her palms, causing her to have to brace herself with her thumbs on his hipbones and the ridge of muscle beside them.

As before, she found that touching him and watching his pleasured responses aroused her to an insane degree, in the same way she had loved playing with his ears. It seemed that her shyness had eased up a great deal and now only still kicked into effect when it was her on the other side of the situation, being touched. It was a relief to know that she had at least gotten past some of her embarrassment and bashfulness.

Still…touching the erection that she could so clearly see still prompted a blush as she contemplated it; but her curiosity and desire to explore him further won out over her slight resurgence of inhibitions. One hand lifted off his hip and moved to hover over the hard-on, but before she made contact she stalled and glanced up, flushing even hotter when she saw Inuyasha's wide, blisteringly hot eyes staring back at her.

"C-can I…?" She asked, feeling it was only polite.

"Fuck yes, please."

She was slightly startled by the urgency and eagerness in his now very husky voice, and was also a bit shocked by just how much it turned her on. She also wasn't sure she had ever heard him say ' _please_ ' like that, if ever, and certainly not in a tone that was so close to begging.

So, she somewhat timidly placed her hand on the ridge showing through his hakama. He tensed up but didn't make any other response to her just laying her hand over him, though she noted that his flush heightened a tad. After a moment, she initiated exploration of this unknown territory, and gently curled her hand around him through the material of his pants. He was warm, and firmer than she had imagined a penis would be, and he pulsed once in her light grip. She assumed the pulsing was a rush of blood that she could feel flooding into the body part under her palm and stiffening it even further, which startled her. In her surprise, she squeezed him as her hand jerked. That got a gasp from him and caused his erection to kick in her palm.

She didn't expect him to twitch like that, didn't even know it was possible, and squeaked a little, which got a choked laugh from him.

"Hey!" she protested, blushing a little more as he snickered at her reaction. "I was just surprised! I didn't know it could…move."

That only made him laugh harder. It _wa_ s funny, and she could see the humor in it, but after a second she decided to stop him, and did so by giving him a very firm squeeze. His chuckles cut off instantly on a gasp and a slight moan as his hips twitched up.

Now that they were back on the same page, she resumed her exploration, getting an idea of the size and shape of him. She was relieved that he wasn't monstrously sized, and that he wasn't too small either. Really, it was a bit larger than she had expected and felt like it must be above average – not that she had anything to compare it to – but he was certainly long and thick enough to cause a little spark of concern in her mind. If this was going to go in her, and she had trouble with two of her own fingers…this was going to hurt. He was definitely bigger than two fingers, certainly longer – but that wasn't really the problem. It was more the width that concerned her, since that would be the measure to which she would have to stretch … and she was less than stretchy. In fact, accommodating him without a good deal of tearing would be impossible.

Still, despite the worries now gnawing at her in the back of her mind, she focused on the present situation and her enjoyment of touching him. Being able to feel him like this, so intimately, sent shudders of awareness down her spine and set her pulse at a very quick rate. She knew she was flushing, and some of that was probably still a certain amount of timidity, but largely it was just from excitement now. Especially as she gripped him more firmly and gave him a few experimental squeezes and tugs.

The firmer touches got some small sounds from him, and his body rippled under hers as he rolled his hips up into the strokes. Sitting on his thighs as she was, it was kind of like riding a carrousel horse, but one that jerked around a little bit.

He let her touch him like that for a few more minutes and then with a growl his hand wrapped around her wrist in a firm grip.

"Okay…gotta stop now. If…if you keep that up, I might lose control and initiate the mating ceremony, and you're not quite ready for that yet."

With that handy-dandy bond, she could tell he was right. His control had withered somewhat, and now he was holding himself together with threads. It was a bit shocking really, now that she was paying attention to what she could sense across their mated connection instead of focusing all her attention on his dick. There was some primal stuff going on inside him that was utterly foreign to her, instincts that were fighting tooth and nail to gain dominance over him and force him into claiming her right this minute. She was stunned into releasing her grip on him and he gently removed her hand with that hold on her wrist.

How he could still treat her so gently with those wild instincts running through his blood so strongly, she didn't know.

"So, uh, what exactly should I expect during this mating ceremony thing?" She asked somewhat nervously. She knew it involved sex, but wasn't too sure about the other particulars. Was it a specific kind of sex? Were there certain position and rules and other things to follow?

He sighed, sat up again, and pulled her close. A pair of warm lips started gently pressing kisses up and down her neck and with a shudder and sigh she relaxed just a little, getting distracted.

Distracting her was precisely his intention.

As he caressed her skin with his lips and occasionally his tongue, he answered her question. "I mate with you. It's pretty simple, Kagome."

"That's it?" she said slightly unsteadily.

"Well, I'm also going to claim you again. Probably a few times."

She remembered how that felt and a shudder ran through her in excitement. But her nerves were kicking in again, because she knew that things were going to pick up quickly now.

Those nerves didn't get any better when he mumbled, "And…it'll probably be a little rough."

He was still kissing her neck, his hands stroking her back and easing her tense muscles some. Right now, in this moment, he was obviously willing to go slow and wanted her to enjoy this as much as possible. But she could also feel hints of his claws pricking her through silk, and felt the tenseness of his own muscles underneath her hands, and knew he was basically a tightly coiled spring that could break at any moment. She highly doubted he was going to have the patience necessary to hold off for too much longer.

Her muscles quivered just a little with nervous energy and she frowned, ticked off with herself for being such a coward.

"What's wrong?" He murmured against her collarbone, having felt the tremor go through her.

She didn't respond right away. What she was worried about now was the upcoming pain – though really, it wasn't even the prospect of pain exactly that bothered her the most, so much as it was the idea that she might ruin the experience for them both.

"I guess…I'm just worried." She eventually muttered.

He pulled back and looked her in the face, his eyes bright with lust but also concerned and gentle. "Is it your maidenhead you're worried about?"

She grimaced, flushing a tad. "Yeah. This mating thing…once you start, you probably can't stop right?"

He cocked his head, looking thoughtful for a moment. "The actual mating ceremony? Yes, it would be impossible to stop. Is that what you're afraid of?"

"I guess…I just…I know it's going to hurt, and I'm worried I might…I dunno, ruin the ceremony or something."

"Hm. If breaking your hymen is going to hurt that bad then the whole mating bit would be pretty painful for you." He agreed. "And if I wasn't able to stop then it would be really bad for you. It would probably just hurt more and more."

She winced. "Yeah, that's what I was worried about."

He frowned, thinking hard for a moment. "There might be a way to break your maidenhead and then stop before we got too far. But it'll be tricky."

"I'm all ears."

"We'd need to do it now, while I'm still in control of myself. The longer we wait the more likely I am to lose control." He grimaced, obviously unhappy about this fact. "I hate it, but like I said, this first time is going to be rough. I'll be able to wait and go slow any other time, but the initial mating is going to be all instinct. Sorry." His ears drooped as he warned her, his eyes tormented.

She gulped and nodded. "Okay…what do we need to do?"

He took a deep breath. "I'd need to…break through your maidenhead, and only go halfway in. I think if we do it now, I'll be able to stop."

Kagome flinched, not quite ready for that just yet. She was ready, in the sense that she wanted to mate with him tonight, but it seemed like they had only just started. She hadn't expected it quite this soon, so it took her off guard. It was too rushed, and sparked her nerves back full-force.

"I'm not…ready for that yet Inuyasha…"

He nodded, being able to feel that well enough through their bond. After a bit he asked with a slight flush, "If you don't mind me asking, how did it go? You know, when I walked in on you that one time?"

She blushed a little too, but not as much as she once would have. Clearing her throat in slightly uncomfortable manner, she said, "You mean, how far did I get?" At his nod, she thought about it. "Well…not as much as I had hoped to be honest. I could only get up to two fingers. And barely at that."

They both blushed a bit more at her candidness, and Inuyasha was the one who cleared his throat this time. Licking his lips, he grabbed one hand and looked at it, obviously trying to judge the size of her fingers and probably comparing them to his own equipment.

"Well…I could try." He hesitantly offered a moment later.

It took her a second to understand. "Try…Oh! You mean with your fingers?"

He nodded and then added, "It might be too dangerous though, I could cut you." She glanced at his long claws where his hand was still wrapped around hers.

"Cutting actually might not be such a bad thing…it might hurt less."

Inuyasha gave her a stern look. "Using my claws intentionally is not an option, Kagome. I'm not a mid-wife; I wouldn't know what to cut and what not to cut."

She winced. "Good point."

"But I can still try using my fingers, just very carefully. And you'd have to stay perfectly still."

She chewed on her lip, thinking about the offer. She honestly wasn't sure she'd be able to stay perfectly still with his fingers in her. And she could feel how thin his control stretched right now. Though she trusted him completely and knew he wouldn't hurt her, undoubtedly it would put a lot of stress on him to have to do something so very, very delicate while also fighting his instincts. It would just be borrowing trouble.

Finally she shook her head _no_. "I don't think that's the best idea…I'm not sure I could stay still enough, and I know how tough it would be for you."

He blew out a relieved breath through his nose. But then he frowned. "So…what then? How do you want to…?"

She swallowed thickly, weighing her options. They could risk fooling around some more to get her as aroused as possible she supposed, which might ease the eventual mating. But if they did that, she doubted Inuyasha would be able to stop. Or they could try just breaking through her maidenhead as he had suggested … but if they did that, he had said they'd have to do it now. It might work out okay; she was still quite wet from touching him - though she didn't know how far it would go, now that she was all nervous. Still, despite the fact that it felt way too rushed, that option did seem like the better idea.

At the same time though, she had been waiting to consummate their relationship for so long that she wanted it just as badly as he did. It was just nerves and concern about the pain that was holding her back at this point.

After a moment, she confirmed, "If we…did the first thing you suggest. We'd have to do it now? Like…right now?"

He didn't even have to answer verbally; just talking about it had caused a surge in his instincts so strong that Kagome could feel it loud and clear. He was holding himself back, but his control was waning quickly. The last thing either of them wanted was for his instincts to overwhelm him and cause a forced mating.

Even though it was unnecessary, he still answered her.

"Yeah…" he mumbled softly with a pained expression. Obviously he hated the fact that he didn't have better control over himself, and she could feel a surge of guilt, regret, and anger directed at himself taint their connection.

She was quick to stop that, because though this particular part felt like it was going too fast, she didn't want it to ruin the experience for either of them. There was no way she wanted him to have all those negative emotions clouding their first time together.

"Hey…don't worry. It's not your fault." She soothed, and felt him gear up for a bit of posturing as he normally did when being called out for having a 'weak' emotion. She cut off that knee-jerk reaction too by reaching for his face and kissing the crinkle between his eyebrows. As she pressed her lips to his face, she whispered, "I want this too, remember?"

He relaxed some, and the guilt eased in their bond.

Feeling bad about rushing Kagome and the inevitability of hurting her had dampened his desire and instincts, but as soon as those negative emotions went away, the prevalent heat came back, urging him to finish the bond between them. Time was definitely growing short, so they would have to do this quickly.

In a swift move he had flipped them so that Kagome was lying beneath him. "Ready?"

Sucking in her breath, she felt her pulse pound out of control, but nodded. She was almost dizzy at the speed things were moving now, but she suppressed her discomfort and tried to just take some deep breaths and hopefully relax some.

Inuyasha didn't waste another second. Her panties were quickly removed, before she really even knew what was going on, and she flushed, grateful that he left the slip at least to give her some modesty. Not that it really mattered at this point of course, but it did ease some of the rushed nature of it.

She expected him to just go for it, knowing his personality, but surprisingly once he settled between her legs he paused and lowered his head, kissing her neck again. His hot breath and mouth made her shiver, especially since she hadn't expected the caress. His mouth worked its way up her neck and over her jaw to her lips, settling in there and stroking against hers. His tongue pressed into her mouth, successfully distracting her from his hands fumbling at the closure of his hakama.

She sighed into the kiss, relaxing somewhat and letting herself be distracted - welcoming it in fact. This was going to hurt, there was no getting around that really. She had torn as much as she could, but her hymen was going to be a pretty bad road block for them both. Undoubtedly, he could get through it easily with his demon strength, but it wasn't going to be fun in the least for her. So she was happy to not be worried about it for the brief moments before it happened.

After a moment, she felt the slightly furry material of his pants droop against her legs, and knew he had managed to successfully undo the tie at the front, sending them sliding down his legs to pool around his knees. That meant that he was exposed, and she was exposed, and now there were absolutely no barriers to prevent him from coming into direct contact with her. With that knowledge, she was expecting the pressure against her but still jumped when she felt hot skin against her lower set of lips, the touch definitely not from fingers or any part of the body she was accustomed to. She knew good and well what was nudging against her, insistently working its way in between her folds to where it could press against her maidenhead.

Given that there had been no direct skin to skin contact between either of their private parts before, the realization that he was touching her sexual bits,and that correspondingly she was touching his, sent her pulse through the roof and she sucked in a sharp, deep breath. The darkest flush to date spread from her face to her neck. Her air got stuck in her lungs and she unknowingly held it there, trapped, as he found where he was supposed to go in. With the slight give in that spot, he was able to wedge himself into place, which allowed the hand that she realized must have been guiding him to come back up and fist into the furs beside her head.

She didn't realize she was holding her breath until his head dipped and he gave her a sharp nip under her jaw, making her release her breath with a puff of air.

"Breathe, Kagome." He murmured into her ear and she sucked in more air, nodding silently.

She felt him press in a little more and clenched her teeth at the unpleasant pinching, stretching sensation. It was bordering on pain now and he wasn't anywhere close to entering her fully. She could very distinctly feel where her hymen was still intact and was blocking him, like a tight rubber band encircling the entrance, making it way too small.

He rocked a little against her, and she felt more than heard the deep growl in his chest. She didn't know whether the sound was out of aggravation or arousal, or some mix of the two. He was stalled some by a slight lack of wetness now, her arousal from earlier only having gone so far and now getting more sticky than slippery. She wasn't the only one to realize that though, and she jerked, nearly dislodging him as his hands settled over her still clothed chest. His thumbs found her nipples and stroked them, making them hard through the silky thin slip.

Back arching into the caress, she gasped almost forgetting about the discomfort for a brief moment. His mouth found hers again and she sighed into the kiss, the heat and wetness of it also serving to divert her from what was going on. The feeling of his lips against hers was a pleasurable distraction, and along with his fingers on her breasts she felt moisture once more gathering where he was pressed up against her. That helped ease his way a little more, and he pressed forwards some, reminding her sharply of the purpose of this whole exercise.

She winced at a severe pinching feeling that signaled she tore a little. He paused as well and she felt and heard him take a deep breath through his nose, and realized that he must smell her blood. After a brief moment he inched forwards again and she flinched as she felt another sharp twinge. He froze and another rumble escaped him.

She was beginning to feel like the best way to do this would be in one clean stroke, because they weren't getting anywhere like this, and judging by the way Inuyasha's muscles were quivering he was reaching the end of his rope. So, with a deep fortifying breath, she murmured, "Just do it Inuyasha."

He froze and pulled back to look her square in the eyes, a question in the golden depths. Eye contact during this particular activity only worsened the already quite hot blush staining her face, neck, and chest now, but she somehow met his gaze and repeated the request.

Taking a deep breath, he dipped his head back down once again, this time burying his face in her neck. After a second he nodded, one fuzzy ear-tip tickling her cheek as it stroked up and down, and he whispered, "…okay."

She didn't even have the time to tense up because he did exactly what she told him to right then and there. Her hand slapped over her mouth and she bit her palm to muffle the loud cry that escaped her throat at the sudden tearing sensation. As expected, his demon strength had forced his way past the barrier as if it was tissue paper, and the sensation had been akin to being stabbed. It was more painful than she had expected really, though she had certainly dealt with worse. But it was a different sort of pain and was very, very invasive.

Inuyasha froze as soon as he broke past the barrier. That didn't sit well with her, because she really wanted him out now. This invasive deep aching and sharp stinging was like nothing she had ever experienced before, and she wasn't certain how to handle it. She desperately needed to not have anything inside her at the moment.

Her heels dug into the mattress and her thighs quivered at how hard she was trying to force herself to stillness, given that her first urge was to try and shove herself back and away from the thing piercing her. Every inch of her cringed, and she did her very, very best not to cry, though her eyes were full of moisture ready to spill over her eyelashes. Crying was the last thing she wanted to do because she knew it would affect him so deeply.

He undoubtedly could feel her pain through their connection, and knew how much she wanted him to withdraw.

"Hold on, just a little longer. Don't want your maidenhead to heal solid again…" He grated, his voice tight and coming from behind gritted teeth.

It made sense, with her enhanced demon healing abilities, if he withdrew too fast her hymen might just heal over again the way it was before and then they'd have to do this all over again. So, she took some deep breaths and tried to focus on something other than the pain in her groin. After a moment that seemed to last forever, he very slowly withdrew, pulling a pained groan from her. The movement caused a similar sound to come from him, but for a different reason.

She felt a wave of relief from the lack of pressure inside her and heaved a sigh, lying still and lifeless. Up until she felt her slip being lifted and her limp legs spread. She struggled to raise her head - wondering what the hell Inuyasha was doing - and then flinched and yelped at the sensation of his tongue and the sight of his head between her legs. Abruptly forgetting her pain, she started struggling to free her legs and shove his head away at the same time.

"Wh-What are you doing!? Inu-Inuyasha! Stop that right now!"

Mainly it was shock and embarrassment that fueled her reaction. At a snarl from him though she froze, which wasn't entirely her choice since it was also his clawed hands holding her down that partially forced her stillness.

"Hold still! I'm healing you damn it!" He barked from his place between her legs and then proceeded to lick her torn opening.

She winced, the sensation rather painful in fact. She couldn't decide if it was better or worse that she wasn't getting pleasure form the act. On the one hand, writhing around, producing fluids, and moaning would have been more embarrassing. But on the other hand, she felt like if she was going to go through this discomfiture she should at least get something out of it. The point was moot anyways. The pain started fading finally and she sighed, relaxing some simply from relief.

Inuyasha pulled away, blood and other things smearing his chin and lips. Kagome scowled and flushed, embarrassed all over again. Inuyasha noticed her expression and snorted, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "You are so freaking dramatic Kagome."

The fact that he still had an attitude when he was shivering with barely held control was impressive, and Kagome gave him a look. She then proceeded to say the first thing that popped into her head, "Oh please, it's not like you wouldn't have flipped out if I suddenly went down on you with no warning."

His eyes flashed. Apparently the picture that her words painted triggered something within him and she had a split second to realize that maybe she should have kept her mouth shut before she was being flipped onto her stomach and yanked onto all fours by a harsh grip on her hips. His control had finally snapped and she couldn't help but tense in fear as his body landed over hers. A harsh ripping sound split the air in their den. She had a brief moment of shock when she felt his bare skin come into contact with the suddenly bare skin of her back, but she didn't have long to wonder how it was possible because soon the shreds of her slip were fluttering to either side of her on the bed. Well…that explained the ripping sound.

The whole front of her undergarment flopped down to lay useless beneath her, held up by nothing anymore. She only had enough time to suck in a sharp breath of air before his mouth was on her neck. Out of instinct she scrambled to get a little space between them, overwhelmed by the speed of everything, but she didn't get anywhere fast. All her brief struggle managed to get her was a growl and claws lightly digging into her skin as his hands clamped down tight on her hips.

Before she could do much else his teeth had buried themselves into the mark on her neck and she froze as a bolt of lightning seemed to strike her from the inside out. As always the sharp sting hit her first and she cried out in both shock and pain. But then the other sensations flashed through her and she nearly went limp as arousal set to burning within her. An intense heat quickly built up inside her recently very sore bits, until she almost forgot about the pain she had just been through. The throbbing she remembered instantly started up, sending rhythmic pulses in tune with her own fast heart beat thrumming through her from the bite all the way down to her groin, over and over.

Still, despite the sudden melty, whimpering state she found herself in, she wasn't mentally prepared for him to thrust back inside her. When she felt him line up she tensed, the memory of the recent pain zinging through her and making her stiffen, her inside muscles all instinctively tightening. She sputtered a brief protest, but it seemed to go unheard and her words broke off with a squeak as he bit harder into her claim mark and simultaneously pushed inside.

It was still uncomfortable, but the pain from before wasn't there anymore and she breathed out a sigh of relief as she realized the pain she was expecting wasn't coming. She wasn't given too much time to adjust though, because he was already moving. She hissed at the odd, full, stretching feeling as he hit all the way home to the base, the discomfort threaded with pleasure as well. The feelings spreading through her were confusing. The uncomfortable fullness and nearly stingy soreness at the entrance were combined with a pleasurable friction as he rubbed and woke all the previous unknown nerves inside of her. The throbbing heat from his bite never let up either, and the pulses of pleasure made her shudder and clench tighter on him, which in turn made her more aware of him inside.

She found herself panting for breath as the pleasure outweighed the discomfort. It was all she could do to stay on hands and knees as her arms and legs began to tremble.

In a brief moment of absurd clarity she realized, _this is really happening_. He was really buried to the hilt inside of her, and a shock of awareness sent a zing through her whole body. It had happened so fast that she hadn't really been able to absorb the fact that they were actually having sex, but the realization made her flush bright red. She wasn't given a chance to get shy though, because the knowledge also sent a blast of arousal through her as well, and she found herself letting out a few soft sounds, very tiny moans that she had previously been able to keep bottled up.

And then he hit something deeper within her that sent a zap of sensation through her vagina, making her gasp and yelp as her body bucked of its own accord. A deep growl rumbled against her neck, sending a shock of heat through her from the claim mark. As he sped up she widened her stance, desperately trying to stay upright.

She was already starting to feel more than a little tender and so when she felt something swell within her she was very aware of it and hissed as she jerked. As soon as she felt the odd sensation, Inuyasha froze for a brief moment, slamming all the way home and holding still. His teeth clamped hard on her and held her still, which sent a bolt of arousal through her that forced some sort of sound from her throat which normally would have made her want to hide from embarrassment. She was left panting, her mind wildly trying to find an answer in the muddied depths of squishy mess that once was her brain. It happened fast, something an inch or two into her swelled up into a nearly painfully large ball. She freaked for a second, worried it wouldn't stop and would bust her open, but nearly as soon as it started it had stopped.

And then he started moving again, his thrusts short and fast now, the swollen part of him unable to exit her body anymore, locking them together and reducing his range of motion, forcing him to go deep, hard, and fast. The sensation was overpowering, and her mind ceased to work anymore. Her arms finally gave out and she flopped onto her elbows, her head hanging down bare inches from the bed. He followed, his mouth never leaving her neck and the new angle had a few embarrassing whimpers coming out of her throat.

As good as it felt, it was also starting to edge into the land of soreness, and she started hoping he would finish soon. That didn't seem to be in the cards though, and she realized why he had said there would be no way to stop once he started, because he literally couldn't disengage from her anymore. His claws lightly raked over her hips and his thrusts only got harder and faster. Pressure built up inside her, heat building as he continually banged into that sensitive spot deep inside her and the swollen knot rubbed against another sensitive spot an inch or two in. Her thighs were trembling now and she could barely hold herself up. If he hadn't been holding her so hard she probably would have collapsed already.

Overwhelmed, she found her eyes watering uncontrollably, almost like she had sneezed or yawned too many times, and she felt tears slipping down her cheeks for no reason outside of too much sensation pelting her body. The pressure built up and then broke, a wave of blistering warmth washing over her, a blast of sensation akin to an orgasm but not quite. The overwhelming sensation forced a cry from her throat and she shuddered, her thighs finally giving out and forcing Inuyasha to wrap an arm around her hips to hold her up. She could feel sudden warmth on her thighs and worried she had accidently wet herself somehow, but wasn't given the time to be embarrassed about her sudden overabundance of fluids.

Whatever had happened only seemed to spur Inuyasha on harder and he pounded into her with extra vigor, building the pressure within her swiftly again. Unlike an orgasm she wasn't sated and only felt more aroused than before. She didn't know how much more she could take. The pressure built and broke again, and once more she felt liquid coming from her in alarming amounts. She flushed, wondering if she shouldn't be utterly embarrassed by this situation she found herself in. She couldn't keep her moans quiet anymore, despite trying to muffle them into the bed.

Thankfully he seemed to hit critical mass and his thrusts soon became jerky and rough, that knot within her swelling a bit more and locking him into place against her. She whined at the sensation, feeling like she was going to tear again if he kept it up. Thankfully he just seated himself fully within her, his body tight and shuddering against hers. A deep groan followed by a snarl ripped from his chest and vibrated where his teeth were still embedded, sending another pulse of heat through her. She jerked as she felt him twitching and pulsing within her, which was yet another sensation she hadn't expected.

After several minutes, his teeth gently unlocked from her throat and he pulled back, easing the two of them to lie on their stomachs, his body still locked securely to hers. She winced at the shift in position, her arousal flashing at the same time her sore muscles twinged. His tongue lapped at her sore neck, closing the wound there from his fangs.

After a good few minutes she finally felt that knot within her loosen and he finally slipped out of her. Her exhausted mind finally came up with a plausible explanation for the anomaly, putting two and two together and coming up with D O G. He was a dog demon. She knew a little about how dogs mated, and if she remembered correctly there was some sort of knot thing involved … she just never would have expected that to have translated to Inuyasha.

She couldn't really focus on that though, she was too tired and her body was still aroused and clamoring for her attention. In any normal circumstance, she would have undoubtedly orgasmed from the pleasure she had just experienced – especially with him biting her claim mark, since that had nearly sent her into an orgasm all by itself – but with the suddenness of it all she had been too self-conscious to do it. So now she was once again left in a state of arousal and didn't quite know what to do about it. Feeling suddenly awkward and insecure - which she fully knew was utterly ridiculous - she grabbed the fluffy comforter and wrapped it around herself before pushing into a seated position. She wiped the sweaty hair out of her face and turned to look at Inuyasha.

"So was that it? Was that the mating ceremony? Are we mated now? Officially?" She asked, somewhat shakily.

"Well, yeah, technically. But in demon culture, the more times we do it tonight the better. It makes for a stronger mating."

Kagome stared at him, shocked, freaked, unsure, and excited. She frankly didn't really know what to think about that.

"W-wait…you're saying we have to do it again?!"

Inuyasha frowned, almost looking hurt. "What? You didn't like it?" She felt a zap of insecurity go through him and was quick to fix it.

"No! That's not what I meant. Of course I liked it, I just…it was kinda intense ya know? I don't know how much more I can take of that in one night."

Still being aroused wasn't helping her thought process.

He undoubtedly could smell it too, and she tensed a little as he sniffed the air and cocked his head. "You're still aroused, so what's the problem?"

She flushed. "Inuyasha!"

"What?!"

"I told you before! You can't just say things like that!"

He heaved a dramatic sigh. "Getting all bashful again now? After what we just did I would have thought that would go away a bit."

"Hey. It has. Mostly. I'm still just a little bit shy, that's all… but nothing like I used to be. I'm not trying to hide am I?"

"Well I dunno, why are you all huddled up in that blanket?"

"That's because I'm naked! Because _someone_ tore off my slip."

His ears twitched and he flushed ever so slightly. "Fine, fine. Sorry about that." Then, unexpectedly, he stood and slid his already droopy pants all the way off.

She squeaked and looked away, mainly out of force of habit, "What are you doing, Inuyasha?!"

"What is it now?! I'm getting naked too obviously. Now we're even! So there's nothing for you to be embarrassed about."

She kept her eyes closed and bit her lip. Yes, in general, she had gotten over most of her bashfulness - but after the intensity of the experience she just had, she found herself a little shaken and sinking into her old habits somewhat.

She jumped at the sound of his exasperated voice. "You can look at me you know, it's not like it's gonna turn you to stone or nothin'."

Jumping slightly and realizing how ridiculous she was being, she dropped her hands and glanced over at him. He was slightly pink but otherwise didn't seem overly perturbed about it. Her eyes skated down his form, taking in the upper body she knew so well and adding on a great pair of muscular legs and hips and…he had white pubic hair too. That shouldn't surprise her, but somehow it did just a little. His stuff hung there, pretty much the way she expected it to, but adding it onto the whole package made Kagome ever so slightly dizzy. There was too much bare Inuyasha to take in all at once, and it certainly didn't help her arousal dim down at all.

All the while she looked, he stood there patiently and with a mostly unconcerned expression on his face. He seemed pretty calm about the whole thing in fact, which was slightly surprising to Kagome, who had reached for a cover as soon as she was able.

"How are you not embarrassed by me looking at you right now?"

"Why should I be?"

Good point, he had nothing to be embarrassed about. He had a great body after all.

"Still…aren't you a little self-conscious?"

He shrugged. "I guess." Then glanced down, looking contemplatively at his groin, which sported a partial erection. "The only thing I'd be worried about is my dick. It looks a bit different from the human ones I've seen, so I guess I was a little worried it would freak you out. But then again you've already felt the difference, so I figured it probably wouldn't matter really."

He was sort of nonchalant about it, but at the same time there was a real concern hiding inside his carefully neutral voice.

She spent a little more time focusing on that part of his body, intent on reassuring him that it didn't bother her. His penis didn't look that different really. I was basically the same shape and color as the diagrams in all the health books she had seen, which wasn't many to be fair. The only difference was a barely noticeable bulge about an inch or two up the shaft and the way it tapered just a little more than normal from there. Really she hadn't even noticed it until he had mentioned it. Of course she knew that bulge could get a lot bigger and would turn into that odd knot that had formed inside her not too long ago. If she saw that it would probably look pretty odd, but she didn't think it would bother her too much. If anything, she suspected it would fascinate her more than anything.

"It looks pretty normal to me." She said, cocking her head to the side while looking at him. "I mean if that knot part was all swollen it might look a little odd. But it wouldn't freak me out."

He relaxed a little. "Good. I'm glad it doesn't weird you out or anything."

So saying, he plopped himself back on the bed and scooted over to her. Once situated comfortably on his knees in front of her swaddled form, his clawed fingers delicately plucked at the blanket she had wrapped around her naked self.

"Can I see you?"

Biting her lip, she flushed but slowly released her death-grip on the blanket covering her. It was only fair; after all he had bared himself to her gaze. He'd basically seen her naked anyways, so this shouldn't be that big of a deal - except for whatever reason, it kind of was. The blanket slipped from her shoulders and pooled at her lap as Inuyasha gave it a tug, and she shivered as the cool air passed over her skin from the material's swift movement. To keep herself from covering her breasts like she wanted to, she laced her fingers together in her lap.

His golden eyes fixated on her, going from her face to her laced hands and then back up over her body… slowly, leisurely, and his gaze began to burn again. She bit her lip, still not sure about going another round just yet, but judging by the look on his face it was about to happen if Inuyasha had a say in the matter. Warmth blossomed on her chest, signaling that her blush had spread down her neck and now grazed the tops of her breasts, and she gripped her fingers tighter to try and keep herself still. Her muscles tensed of their own accord when he reached forwards, but all he did was snag the blanket draped around her hips and pull it free to expose her lower half as well, which he also perused.

After a long moment, Kagome cleared her throat a little uncomfortably and shifted. "Uh…Inuyasha, this is kinda embarrassing…you just staring at me like this…"

"Sorry. You're just so beautiful I got a little carried away…" He admitted slightly awkwardly, glancing back up to meet her gaze. His ears twitched with embarrassment and a flush painted his cheeks.

Not expecting the compliment, she was left speechless, just blinking at him, until she gathered her wits about her and managed, "Oh, uh, th-thanks." The bright, happy smile and pink cheeks though exposed just how pleased she was at the compliment.

This time when he reached forwards, his hand touched her, grazing her neck and shoulder and sliding his fingers into her hair before hooking his fingers behind her neck and tugging her forwards. She made a small sound of surprise and lost her balance since she didn't expect it, and ended up falling into him. He caught her and could have stayed upright but simply let her knock them both over so that she was sprawled on top of him.

Picking her face up from where it had planted into his chest, she squinted at him and noted the mischievous glitter in his eyes and the slightly toothy smirk. "Hey! That was uncalled for."

"Was it?" He replied ever so snarkily, and then his powerful thighs were bunching on either side of her and his hands had captured her shoulders and he was dragging them both into the center of the bed. She flailed around a bit, but mostly just let it happen since there wasn't really anything she could do to prevent it anyways. As soon as they were where he wanted them, he let her go to flop back down on top of him, her hips nestled against his and her legs draped down between his. Their bare skin was in complete contact, and it didn't take her very long to realize this fact - which had her blushing again and burying her face in his chest.

He started snickering at her, and in protest she mumbled, "Oh, stop it already Inuyasha…" into his skin.

That only seemed to increase the volume in his mirth for a brief moment before he stuffed it away somewhere. His fingers lifted and the very tips of his claws began to card through her hair, the sharp tips very gently scratching against her scalp in a way that sent shivers of pleasure down her spine. She shivered and goosebumps rose up on her skin.

"You like this?" He asked, an odd vulnerability in his voice. She felt a brief flash of it in his soul as well, and risked a glance up through her bangs.

At another wave of shivers she made a little groaning noise and said, "Yeah. That feels awesome."

He flashed a bright grin that told her he was exceptionally pleased to have found something that she liked and he kept at it. With a sigh she let herself melt into him, her bashfulness slowly eking away with the tension. The skin to skin thing was still prevalent in her mind, but now it was more warm and comfortable and she enjoyed the feel of his smooth skin against hers. The hair on his legs and belly was surprisingly soft, and was very pleasant to feel rubbing against her own legs and belly. The whole thing was arousing and sensual, but it was also comforting, soothing, and just really nice. The intimacy of it made warmth glow in her brightly.

His claws eventually left her hair and lightly trailed down the skin of her neck and then onto her shoulders and upper back, where he traced ever-so-light swirly patterns with the points. That also felt amazingly good, and got more shivers and goosebumps and a few small pleased mumbles and whimpers.

After a while she heard his voice rumble out of his chest again where her ear was pressed. "Is this…is it arousing? Or does it just feel good?"

It was a question reminiscent to the ones she had asked him so long ago back when she was first discovering the sensitivity of his ears. She chuckled a little because of that and said, "I'm having a little dejavu here, except I was the one asking questions last time."

Her response got a chuckle, but he was obviously still waiting for an answer to his question.

"Well…It's really nice, and it's definitely stimulating…" She sighed and winced in pleasure as he made a slightly harder pass up her spine. "It's…yeah, I'd say it's arousing. Especially at this particular moment."

Her body hadn't forgotten its arousal, and this strangely seemed to add to it, though it was in a lazy sort of way. It wasn't something that would turn her on super fast, but with her already heightened senses it was definitely very sensual.

Due to how relaxed she was, thanks to the pleasant shivers, she was able to be candid without blushing too much - though her cheeks were stained permanently pink anyways and would probably stay that way for the rest of the night.

"Good to know. It seemed it was, based on your scent."

"So you really can smell when I'm…"

"Aroused? Yeah."

More at ease now, Kagome stacked her hands and rested her chin on them to look up at him. "How exactly? I mean do I produce pheromones or…"

"Well, yeah, you produce more pheromones, and your overall scent gets muskier. But the dead giveaway is the smell of … the cream you produce."

The term 'cream' spurred the memory of when he had teased her about having never tasted her before, and she flushed a little hotter, a little in embarrassment but mostly in arousal this time. Chewing her lip she couldn't keep herself from asking him another question.

"So, uh, what does it…what do I, smell like? Is it nice or..."

He grinned down at her. "You smell very nice. ' _Nice_ ' actually doesn't really cover it. You smell…" he paused to take a deep contemplative inhale, which had her nibbling on her lip and pinking even more. "Musky, like sex. Salty, a little sweet. Right now even more salty than usual, from the sweat of our mating, and…I can smell my scent on you. All over." He took another sniff, and groaned, finishing his description with, "– delicious."

As he spoke, his voice grew progressively huskier, and his eyes darkened. If she was in any doubt about what state he was in, the very stiff hard-on digging into her lower abdomen was a dead giveaway, especially as it pulsed against her and his hips gave a little roll.

She gasped, especially at his last word that coincided with his hip roll. Her arousal spiked, matching a similar spike she could feel in his emotional airwaves that she had access to.

Before she knew what had happened, his hands hooked under her armpits and gently dragged her up his body so they were face-to face. The motion had caressed every inch of her skin with his, and got a shudder and gasp from both of them. Once in range, he pecked careful kisses to her mouth, before locking his lips to hers in a deeper, passionate, and yet still languorous kiss. His tongue slowly stroked against hers in a sensual, lazy way that said he was unhurried, satisfied enough to take his time but still aching for more.

The heated caress of his mouth on hers left her breathless when they finally separated, though the space between their lips was minimal. Just enough for him to whisper, "Can we…?"

Though he didn't spell it out, she knew what he was asking, and her body quaked. He felt the tremor, and shifted is lips to her jaw, delicately kissing her in that sensitive spot before going up to her ear and giving it a nibble. "The mating frenzy has eased, so I promise I can be much gentler this time around. We can take our time…enjoy it more fully."

She sucked in a shaky breath, turned on impossibly by his words, and couldn't quite hide the very soft groan that snuck out of her throat. She could feel his lips curve against her skin in a smile.

After another few unsteady breaths she managed to stutter back, "Y-yeah, that's what you said earlier. I just didn't think it would be this soon."

He trailed his nose back along her jaw, inhaling her scent as he went which left a path of cool air in its wake. "Mm-hm," he hummed in acquiescence. "I did. And I very much want to. I didn't really get the chance to explore you properly."

This statement left poor Kagome a bundle of nerves, most of which were on fire and quivering in a distinctly needy way, and she hissed a little, stammering, "E-explore?"

He hummed again in response, nipping her chin a little in a slightly playful manner. "Yeah. And I know you didn't orgasm earlier…in fact you haven't once reached completion. I think it's past time I returned all the favors you've given me, don't you think?"

A deep shudder rippled its way down her spine, while a corresponding clenching of internal muscles rippled their way up inside her. She had sort of been hoping he would think that the two gushings of liquid during their first mating were orgasms. She still wasn't entirely sure what that had been about, if she had urinated or something, and preferred not to think too deeply about it, but had hoped it would fool him. Mostly because she knew that – with guys in her time at least – they tended to sometimes judge how good in bed they were by if they could get a girl off on the first try, and she hadn't wanted to disappoint Inuyasha. Of course she had also sort of hoped that because then he wouldn't try to, and the last little bit of bashfulness she had mostly circled the idea of orgasming around him for some reason.

The question remained though, just how did he know, if he was a virgin?

"Um…how did you know that I didn't…I mean when we were mating I…uh…well…" She just couldn't quite find the words to say " _wet the bed twice_ " and wasn't entirely sure she wanted to draw attention to that in the first place.

What she didn't know of course, was that Miroku had very explicitly described how a woman's internal muscles contracted when she reached the ultimate pleasure. The monk had also mentioned another special event, where a woman would produce large amounts of liquid rather suddenly, accompanied often by moans and/or other signs of intense pleasure. That, he said, was not an orgasm, though sometimes it could provide nearly as much pleasure, and it originated from a spot inside the woman's body. He also assured Inuyasha that though it may seem like it, the liquid in these cases was not urine, and also warned that she may grow very upset and think she had wet herself.

At the time, all this information had seemed unnecessary, explicit, and had shocked and embarrassed the hell out of Inuyasha, but now he was very glad the monk had shared it. Of course, he would have known right away that the liquid that had come from Kagome was not urine - based on its scent - but it did prevent him from misunderstanding it as her orgasming.

At her sputtered denial, or protest, or whatever it was, he grinned, nipping at her neck. He knew she was still bashful about orgasming around him - could feel it plainly through the bond they now shared - and thus knew she was trying to play the events during their coupling off as such. She was dumb if she thought she could get away from him that easy.

Then again, maybe she had never cum before. That was a thought that hadn't ever occurred to him. Maybe she actually thought she had reached two orgasms during their first round.

He huffed against her skin and said, "You do know that those weren't orgasms right?"

She stiffened some and drew back. He could feel the heat radiating from her as her shyness made a another brief resurgence. "I…I…I d-don't really know what those were to be honest."

He could just feel the waves of embarrassment and unsureness rolling off her, and suddenly he knew she thought that she had pissed herself.

He was quick to correct her, hoping she would relax and stop getting so worried about stuff. "You didn't lose your bladder if that's what you're worried about." He said with a sigh. "It smelled entirely different - salty, kind of buttery really, and not in the least like piss."

She flushed even hotter, but something within her relaxed. Her teeth clamped down on her lip again and she worried it with her sharp little fangs. "Y-you're sure? You aren't just saying that to make me feel better?"

The fact that she didn't even question the fact that he knew she was worried about that specific thing made his chest glow. It was proof their bond had tightened enormously, that they could read each other's emotions and the causes of those emotions so easily.

He nuzzled against her, chuffing a little in his pleasure. "Yeah. I'm sure…smelled kinda tasty really."

She predictably squeaked and then lightly smacked at his head. "You are so unapologetically candid!"

He chuckled. "Yep. You should know that by now."

She heaved a very slightly exasperated sigh, but he could taste amusement in her emotions. Then she asked a slightly uncomfortable question. "So…how did you know those weren't orgasms though?"

Grimacing, he admitted, "Well…Miroku may have forced a few pieces of advice on me."

Kagome snickered, delighted that she had been able to force that admission out of him. She had been embarrassed enough that she enjoyed the change and his discomfort. Then she realized something. "So, he told you how to tell if a woman, uh, finishes?"

"Yep," he hummed, nipping along her collarbone.

Well, there went that hope.

Then he countered her question with one that turned the tables on her and had her flushing, once again. "So…were you just trying to trick me into thinking those were orgasms? Or do you just not know what an orgasm feels like?"

She groaned. Damn, he must have picked up on her last bit of bashful territory. "No, I know what an orgasm feels like."

She could feel his grin press against her throat and then without warning his teeth bit hard into her claim mark. The sudden sharp sting of pain and then the sharper sting of pleasure got a very loud sound from her, one which she normally would have muffled and held back, but due to the surprise it came out unfettered. The moan cut off on a yelp at the realization that she had cried out at the shock of pleasure, and she flushed – for the millionth time. The blast of liquid heat was so intense, unexpected, and abrupt that it caused a full body convulsion and her nails bit into his arms.

She had already been aroused, had been for what felt like hours now, and the flash of passion seemed to boil her blood. The fast, insistent pulsing that matched the beat of her heart went from her neck strait to her groin. Tears from an overload of sensation made her eyes water.

It was over quickly though, as Inuyasha released her to slump bonelessly on top of him. After a second of catching her breath, she tilted her head up to glare at him, meeting a very smirky face. "What was that for?!"

"For trying to trick me." He said, his grin only widening. When she just pouted at him, his expression softened a little. "I know you're still shy about that, but you really have no reason to be."

She huffed a groan. "I know that! I know being shy at all is silly, but I can't really help it."

"Well, how about we work on you until that shyness goes away?"

The husky question sent a bolt of heat down to her already overly aroused center, and she could only manage a groan in response. Taking that as an affirmative, Inuyasha upped his attentions, kissing and laving at her neck, spending extra time on her sensitive throbbing claim mark, and as soon as she was a shivering puddle of goo he switched their positions again so that she sprawled out under him. Gasping at the abrupt move, she very nearly bit her own tongue off. Thankfully, her healing saliva helped to ease the pain, but upon smelling the slight scent of blood, Inuyasha was instantly investigating… and finding the source with his own tongue. That naturally led to passionate kissing.

After a bit more of that, Inuyasha released her mouth again and traveled down, kissing and licking at her breasts. That got the start of a protest from Kagome, as her shyness popped up again.

"Wh-what are y- oh! O-okay…"

The protest ended before it even began as Inuyasha lavished his attention on the peaks of her breasts, deciding that he liked kissing and licking and sucking on them. He switched back and forth, using his fingers as well, until Kagome was a wiggling moaning mess, a state which he decided he wanted to keep her in for as long and often as possible. The sounds she made were absolutely adorable and utterly sexy at the same time, and his ears swiveled to pick up every single one. Even the ones she tried to hide.

Once she was in that state, he moved down, kissing her stomach and exploring her belly button with his tongue, and then traveled further until he was pressing kisses over her hips and thighs. It was impossible to mistake his intention. At a new surge of bashfulness Kagome attempted to close her legs on him.

It didn't work.

"Kagome…remember I've seen you here before, what's with the shyness?"

She bit her lip. It was true though, he had looked at her before and even licked her before right after breaking her maidenhead, so this shouldn't bother her. It was embarrassing, but then again, she had seen all of him, so there shouldn't be any reason for her to not let him see her. It took some internal convincing and talking to herself before she managed to calm down from the sudden spell of inhibition. Very reluctantly she let her legs relax from where they had been pressing against his restraining hands.

He didn't look until she had relaxed, but once she did his eyes flicked down and then stuck. His ears trained forwards with intense interest and he cocked his head, staring at the juncture of her thighs with a fasciation that had her struggling to not reconsider.

One of his hands shifted to lightly brush the black curly hair at the top and grazed it along the sides, giving her a slightly tickly sensation and her legs jerked. When those curious fingers found flesh instead of fluff Kagome sucked in a breath and held it, flushing like crazy as he very gently stroked her inner lips before parting them to explore deeper. He was very careful about his claws, but even so she held herself very still, concerned that bucking would result in a scratch somewhere very unpleasant. His fingers trailed up and gently lifted the hood over her clit.

"So…is this the little 'pleasure pearl' I'm supposed to be focusing all my attention on?" he asked, lightly prodding it with the pad of one finger.

That one touch sent a bolt of pleasurable electricity through her, but the sensation was much too sharp given that her clit hadn't really been touched at all this whole time. Kagome yelped rather loudly and Inuyasha had to very quickly remove his fingers as her body jerked, for fear of scratching her.

Then of course his words filtered through and she found herself breathlessly snickering as she cringed back with her legs half-closed again, a hand warding him off. "P-Pleasure pearl? Seriously? I'm guessing that's what Miroku called it, huh?"

Inuyasha was busy staring at her with wide eyes, still shocked by the intensity of her reaction to one little poke. "Um, yeah?"

She decided not to go into semantics at the moment, she simply didn't have the wherewithal or the breath anyways.

"So, I'll take that as a yes, this is what I'm supposed to touch." Inuyasha stated after a moment, already attempting to pry her legs back open.

"Uh, right, but be _**gentle**_. And don't touch it directly at first. Please." She pleaded, her nerves still on fire and her legs refusing to part.

"Okay. I'm guessing it's really sensitive huh?"

"Very. Very much so."

He nodded and gave her trembling thigh a sweet kiss. "I promise to be gentle."

Intaking a shuddering breath, Kagome tentatively let her legs fall open again. Then she jumped a mile when he impulsively pressed an apologetic kiss to her on the nerve bundle in question. It was a very light kiss, so it didn't send another shock through her system, but it did feel good, given just how aroused she was. Pulling back a little, he settled down there, looking for all the world like he was setting up shop, and curled himself up comfortably with his head pillowed on her thigh as his fingers gently played with her. He took her request very seriously, and touched her with feather light touches that at first felt fantastic and then began to make her clit almost burn with the need for firmer touches.

It wasn't long before she was biting her lip to try and stifle her moans and her hips were shifting and her thighs were twitching. Taking the hint, his touches finally grew gradually firmer, which drove her even faster into the land of near-orgasm. However, he kept shifting up the way he touched her and it was driving her crazy. She would get close and then he would change rhythm, pattern, or pressure and she would be knocked off course again. By this point, she was so worked up that bashfulness or shyness about cumming wasn't really an issue any more.

Eventually a sound of slight distress came from her, which got his attention, and he stopped. That was the last thing she wanted.

"W-wait, don't stop!" She yelped before she could stop herself, and then blushed, her inhibitions coming back.

He grinned. "I'm not. But first tell me what's bothering you."

"B-bothering me?"

"That sound you made. I know you're close and you're frustrated. Tell me how to do it right."

It was such a straightforward request and so spot on that Kagome couldn't really refuse, so she answered though she flushed even darker for it. "U-um, you keep changing…y-you need to find a rhythm or pattern that works and stick to it, otherwise I get thrown off and cant…"

He caught on fast. "Right."

His fingers returned and she groaned with relief, then covered her mouth in renewed embarrassment. His free hand snapped up and pulled her wrist to free her mouth, saying, "Don't muffle them. I like the sounds you make."

That just caused her to gasp and then make kind of a pathetic whimpering sound that might have been a protest laced in pleasure, but it was hard to tell. She left her hand off her mouth though, and tried to not fret about her noises, though she did try to keep them small.

He set about trying to find the right rhythm and pattern, and did it in a very methodical way, which was rather uncharacteristic of him. In fact, the focus he was showing at this particular moment was uncanny for his typically brash personality, but she wasn't complaining. However the way he went about it did cause her some discomfort due to her shy tendencies, because it required her to participate rather actively.

First he played with pressure, rubbing her in gentle circles and asking, "Lighter or harder? Faster or slower?"

She got him to go relatively light and slow at first.

Then he set about trying to find the right pattern. He tried moving his fingers in one way, and then asked, "How's this?"

She replied, to the best of her ability, "G-good."

After a moment of sticking to that and watching her, he then switched to a different pattern, and asked, "How about this? Better, worse, or the same?"

If it was a good switch she didn't really have to say verbally. She would just gasp and let her hips buck slightly, at which point he would confirm, "Better?" and she would nod or hum in approval. If it was worse she would pull away some and he would switch back to the one before.

Eventually, he hit on a pattern that was better than the others he had tried. She could feel that insistent pulling in her gut and the buildup of pressure starting behind her clit that indicated she was close to finishing, and did her very best to gasp, "Th-that…k-keep doing that!" despite her embarrassment, which was quickly taking a back burner to everything else.

He nodded and stuck to that one much to her relief and great pleasure. He asked about speed and pressure a couple of times to verify he had the right blend, and then kept at it.

Kagome didn't have a chance in hell of not orgasming after that, not when she could already feel the pressure that had been building within her for what seemed like hours finally reach a breaking point, and fast. She fell head first into it with a choked off groan and a jerk that very nearly unseated Inuyasha, and his head popped up instantly, his eyes watching every little shiver and twitch of her body almost greedily as she convulsed.

She had exactly zero control over what her muscles were doing. Her legs clamped tight around Inuyasha's hand, grinding her hips into his fingers which he kept still for her aside from some very subtle movements that seemed to prolong the wave of pleasure she was riding. She didn't even feel when his claws lightly cut her thighs at her sudden move, but he saw and made a mental note to heal them as soon as she was done. She gripped the furs tight under her and her head turned to pant and whimper and make a few other embarrassing noises into the fluffy bed covering, her whole torso clenching and twisting.

It was certainly one of the strongest orgasms she had encountered, which made sense given just how long she had been aroused for. And the come down took nearly a full minute before her muscles finally unclenched and her legs fell slack.

After a second, she chanced a glance up at Inuyasha, to see a thoroughly dazed, aroused, and entranced sort of expression on his face.

A second passed and then he seemed to shake himself out of it and bent his head to tend to her lightly scratched up thighs. He noticed a tiny pinprick of blood on one of her outer lips as well, where a stray claw had pressed too hard, and he licked that too. Her body jerked at the feel of his tongue on her, and a small sound came from her throat. The adamant throb in his groin took a back burner to the taste of her as soon as it hit his tongue, and before he knew what exactly he was doing, he found himself wedged firmly between her still quivering thighs, cleaning up the juices she had produced with his tongue. She sighed and shuddered, and at a stray thought he moved up some to lap at her clit. _**That**_ got an instant reaction.

She jumped, nearly dislodging him and a curse word popped out of her mouth. That shocked him enough that he tried it again, getting much the same result.

"I-Inuyasha, don't tell me…you can't possibly mean to…" she sputtered sounding near hysterics.

He hadn't been planning on it, but now he certainly was.

Kagome arched and twisted, trying to get away from the stimulation of his tongue on her. It was too much too soon, and though she could already feel something building again, her clit was simply too sensitive.

"Too much, too much!" She yelped, and then shuddered a sigh and stopped struggling so much when his tongue instantly gentled.

It was different from his fingers. It was warmer, softer, wetter, and did things that fingers certainly couldn't. It was by pure luck that - only a few moments in - he managed to happen upon something that worked and didn't over stimulate her, and at her moan and buck, he stuck to it. He had largely stimulated the underside and main glans of her clit with his fingers, and now his tongue wiggled up under the hood to very lightly stroke the very top of it where it connected to the fold of skin covering it. As it turned out, touching a different side of her clit – and in a completely different way – bypassed the normal oversensitivity problem she encountered after an orgasm. It was a discovery for her too, but she was much too busy squirming and gasping to really appreciate the full value of it.

It wasn't long before the pressure built and broke yet again, sending her into an even stronger orgasm, which lasted longer and had her making a few loud noises that would normally have been repressed. She was pretty sure his name had found its way into the mess of moaning as well.

After the convulsions had passed and she finally relaxed, he sat up and licked his lips, looking very pleased with himself.

With a chuckle, she tiredly slurred, "You look like the-"

Knowing what she was about to say, he interrupted with, "- DOG that got the cream."

She snorted and went utterly limp, her arm flopping over her face in exhaustion and utter satisfaction.

"Oi, we're not done yet."

"We're not?" She groaned, not bothering to open her eyes. Perhaps she should have, because it would have been less of a surprise when suddenly he was on top of her, pushing inside.

With a gasp that almost turned into a choke, she snapped her eyes open and nearly elbowed him in the face when her arm jerked from over her face. He managed to dodge the blow and it didn't slow him down any as he sunk all the way home.

This was ridiculous. She had no idea how much more pleasure she could take. But she was already on board as he started very slowly and leisurely to thrust in and out. He took his time, withdrawing almost completely before deliberately sliding back in, and Kagome found herself arching into each thrust, her breath coming in heavy gulps. It took much longer for him to swell up as she remembered, but when he did, he came to a shuddering stop, letting the knot fully form before switching abruptly to hard, short, and fast strokes as before.

The sudden switch had Kagome crying out and hanging on for dear life. Pressure built once again inside her as he rubbed against all those same sensitive spots inside her, and as it burst in that wave of pleasure that wasn't an orgasm she instinctively latched onto him. This time around she was the one who bit him, and as soon as her teeth sunk in he let loose with what almost sounded like a howl, one that cut off on a growl as his thrusts sped up. It wasn't long before he was freezing over her, and she felt him jerk inside, signaling that he had finally finished.

With a gasp and final shudder he collapsed on top of her, careful not to put his full weight on her slightly more fragile body. She shifted a little, her insides clenching at the move, and his hips bucked again. They both tried to catch their breath, and held onto each other as they came down from their respective highs.

Once again they had to stay put for a few minutes until the knot had eased enough for him to pull out.

Once disengaged, Inuyasha wrapped himself around her, rolling them a little so they were on a slightly less soaked part of the bed. He spooned her back and nuzzled his face into her hair with a deep sigh, and she responded with the same satisfied sort of sound as she relaxed fully into his warm body. Satisfaction and a deep exhaustion worked its way through her limbs and made them heavy and unmovable.

She was just drifting off to sleep when she felt a hand very lightly begin to caress her side, working over her hip, then up and lightly tracing patterns onto her belly, which quivered under the touch. That touch turned decidedly not innocent as it traveled up from her stomach and began gently caressing her breasts, which sent a shudder through her tired body. A lazy sort of warmth started up again in her lower belly, but she ignored it, trying to feign sleep.

He couldn't possibly be serious.

As it turned out, that was the wrong tactic to take, because his lips soon joined in on the attack and pressed into her throat, over her claim mark, sending more warmth to her groin and her insides started to quake.

She started saying, "Don't you dare-" but was cut off as his teeth slowly sank into the mark and his hand sunk between her legs simultaneously.

Many more hours passed in this manner.

Some time later found them both out cold, draped over each other, stuck together with sweat and other sticky substances that Inuyasha wasn't entirely able to clean with his tongue. The sun was just barely sneaking up over the horizon, lighting up the entry way of their den with rosy light as it peeked between the slats of the reed door.

Inuyasha woke first, sated and warm and happier than he had ever remembered waking up in his entire life. That was probably because he woke curled around the form of his – now official – mate. He hummed and curled more firmly around her soft body, smiling as she made a soft pleased sound and snuggled closer in her sleep.

Nuzzling his nose into the hair at her neck he pressed gentle kisses there, slowly branching off to her shoulder. There was no response. She was still out cold.

Snickering a little, he just couldn't help but pester her a little, nibbling at her ears, tickling her with deceptively light touches of his claws on her thighs and stomach. She started squirming, just a little, and was still very firmly asleep, much to his amusement.

He kept at it, until he got a few very soft, fussy protests, which again came from a still sleeping mouth. That still didn't deter him, and he continued pushing his luck, until finally the soft word, "…sit…" pressed him down into the mattress beneath them and forced him to stop as he nearly got strangled. As soon as he could, he popped up to glare and protest, until he discovered that she had spoken in her sleep, which roused his humor once again.

Staring at her, sound asleep like this and utterly trusting, he could feel his heart warm and soften even more. Content now to just lay beside her, he snuggled up to her gentle body heat and gave a sigh, amazed that he had somehow managed to find someone like her, who had - for whatever reason -accepted someone like him.

They had experienced some rough shit together, gone through heartache and agony and battles, and yet somehow had come out the other end of it all alive and well and in love. He scarcely could fathom it. He thanked his lucky stars and whatever gods might be deigning to look out for him and Kagome. This was the perfect end to it all, the perfect way to start living life anew, better and happier. Together.

It was the perfect morning.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Well, that's it folks. This story is officially finished. Yay! Although it is a little sad, as always, to say goodbye at the end of a story.

I hope this finale was up to everyone's expectations. Yes, it did drift into the land of smut a few times I will admit…wasn't exactly planning for it to be quite this explicit, but these two sort of had a mind of their own. I hope the kink factor in some of the parts didn't perturb anyone. :3

As always, I love all you guys, thank you so much for reviewing and following this story to the very end. And of course, I'll make sure to check back periodically and read any new reviews posted. :3


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